Raipur: Days after the news of brutal murder of Bijapur journalist Mukesh Chandrakar rocked the state of Chhattisgarh, Chilling details have surfaced in the autopsy report of the slain journalist, indicating unbearable torture faced by him before the murder.
According to the reports, Chandrakar had sustained over a dozen fractures on his head while his heart was ripped out during the assault. His neck was broken, liver in four pieces with 5 broken ribs. These chilling details were revealed in the autopsy as quoted in media reports.
One of the doctors who was part of the autopsy team denied witnessing such a brutality in his career, asserting that the brutalities done to the journalist suggest involvement of more than two people in the assault.
The swollen body of Chandrakar with multiple injuries on his head was recovered from a concrete packed septic tank in Chattanpara area on January 3. The premise belongs to a local contractor and Congress leader Suresh Chandrakar, the alleged mastermind of the murder.
Known for his courageous reporting from the interiors of Bastar’s violence hit areas Mukesh had a decent following on YouTube. He was also one of the interlocutors involved in securing the release of abducted CRPF jawan from Maoist’s captivity in the year 2021.
Mukesh had recently covered news related with alleged irregularities in a road project being constructed in Bijapur with a cost of around Rs120 crores.
The report prompted an investigation into the project by the state government which believed to be the prime cause behind the cold-blooded murder.
As per the missing complaint filed by Mukesh’s brother Yukesh, his brother was receiving threats calls on his phone following the coverage of the road project.
Mukesh reportedly got a call from Ritesh Chandrakar an accused and brother of contractor Suresh Chandrakar on January 1 and had gone to meet him at the said premise.
The murder of Mukesh sent shockwaves across the media fraternity with many of the fellow journalists demanding swift action into the case. Acting on swiftly the state government order an SIT (Special Investigation Team) (SIT) investigation into the case with Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Deputy CM Vijay Sharma assuring time bound arrest of the accused.
Swinging into action the police apprehended three people including Ritesh Chandrakar and intensified its chase to nab Suresh who was on the run since January 3. The administration on the other hand also razed illegal premises belonging to Suresh along freezing his bank accounts. The police eventually apprehended Suresh from Hyderabad on Sunday.
The brutal murder of Mukesh also stirred a political row with Congress raising fingers on the law-and-order situation in the state. The BJP on the other hand however reacted aggressively by sharing pictures of the alleged mastermind Suresh Chandrakar with top leaders of the Congress party.
ठेकेदार, जिस पर पत्रकार की हत्या का इल्ज़ाम है, उसका नाम सुरेश चंद्राकर है।
सुरेश चंद्राकर कांग्रेस का बड़ा नेता है, जिसे हर चुनाव में कांग्रेस की तरफ से बड़ी ज़िम्मेदारियाँ सौंपी जाती हैं।
कांग्रेस के वर्तमान प्रदेश अध्यक्ष दीपक बैज के साथ आरोपी। https://t.co/wU1tTNGfpQ pic.twitter.com/pGIpkkqghp
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 3, 2025
Following the BJP’s accusation, the Congress party however claimed that the said accused had left the Congress party and joined the BJP, though reports in the media suggest that Chandrakar was associated with the Congress party SC cell till as recent as November 2024. He was also reportedly made an election observer for one of the seats in the recently concluded Maharashtra state assembly elections.
