Accused contractor Suresh Chandrakar in police custody-left, journalist Mukesh Chandrakar-right, Image X
Raipur: Chhattisgarh Public Work Development (PWD) has suspended the registration of contractor Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the brutal murder case of Bastar based freelance journalist, officials said on Tuesday, January 7.
The decision to suspend the registration has arrived on the heels of contractor’s arrest in connection with the cold-blooded murder that rocked the state. The department has also cancelled all the tenders awarded to Chandrakar. The accused was enrolled as category ‘A’ contractor with the department.
Notably, the district administration of Bijapur had also razed illegal construction of Chandrakar. His bank accounts were also seized by the state government.
An 11 member SIT was formed by the state government to investigate the murder following the journalist body was recovered from a sealed septic tank of a premise belonging to contractor Suresh Chandrakar on January 3.
The police initially arrested Chandrakar’s brothers Ritesh Chandrakar and Dinesh Chandrakar along his supervisor Mahendra Ramteke. The main accused Suresh Chandrakar was nabbed by the SIT from Hyderabad on Sunday.
Mukesh Chandrakar, a freelance journalist with NDTV was missing since January 1. His brother Yukesh Chandrakar in his missing complaint filed with the police had disclosed that Mukesh was receiving threat calls.
Mukesh had recently reported on alleged irregularities in a road construction work costing around Rs120 crores. The report led to a halt on the project which is believed to be the prime reason behind the murder. The said work was linked with contractor Suresh Chandrakar.
The autopsy report of Mukesh reveals brutal torture before the murder, suggesting involvement of a number of people in the assault.
Earlier Chhattisgarh Deputy CM Vijay Sharma emphasised on bringing the actual reason behind such crime to the fore. He said, “It must have been so painful for him. The law and order situation across the state is under control but the reason and conspiracy behind the murder should be found out.”
“Mukesh Chandrakar was one of my favourite journalists and was also a very bright journalist. It is very sad the way he has been murdered. Police arrested three criminals earlier and fourth one, the key accused in this case has also been arrested from Hyderabad and brought to Bijapur. Their accounts and unauthorized addresses have been sealed and the investigation is underway. An 11-member SIT probe is underway in this murder case,” he added.
The incident also stirred a political row in the state with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders sharing pictures of the accused contractor with Congress leaders. The BJP leaders also shared paper cuttings, suggesting Chandrakar’s appointment as an election observer for the Congress party. The Congress party however downplayed the allegations, claiming that the accused Chandrakar had recently joined BJP.
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