In a shocking incident, a television journalist from the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh was found dead in the septic tank on the premises of a Congress leader in Bijapur on January 3. Reports state that three individuals have been arrested in connection with the murder, including Suresh Chandrakar, the Congress leader and road contractor.
Mukesh, an independent journalist from Chhattisgarh who had done ground reporting for NDTV in the Bastar region, went missing on January 1. He received a call from a local contractor’s cousin. Mukesh had told another journalist in Raipur about the call and that the contractor’s brother wanted to see him.
After he went missing, his phone got switched off around midnight. Following this, Mukesh’s brother Yukesh, a journalist, filed a police complaint on January 2 after his sibling did not return.
Upon registering a complaint, Police constituted a special team to locate the missing Journalist, IG Bastar P Sundarraj said.
Police traced his last mobile location and found it at the residence of contractor Suresh Chandrakar in Chattanpara Basti. Police started the search operation, where they found a recently sealed septic tank with fresh concrete. Police broke the tank and recovered Cody Muskesh’s body. He had several injuries on his dead and back.
Police administration is doing an extensive investigation to know the motive, modus operandi and other details of the killing.
The journalist exposed corruption on a recently constructed road in the region, where contractor and congress leader Suresh Chandrakar was involved in the construction. Fingers are pointing at the link between the exposed corruption and the killing of the journalist. The contractor’s brother called him to meet him, and next, his body was found on the congress leader’s premises.
Chattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said the perpetrator will not be spared and will soon be behind bars.
He said, “The loss of Mukesh Ji is an irreparable loss to the field of journalism and society. The culprits of this incident will not be spared under any circumstances. We have instructed the authorities to arrest the accused at the earliest and ensure the strictest punishment.”
Chhattisgarh Congress president Deepak Baij criticised the killing by saying that the day-to-day law and order are deteriorating in the state, and the targeted killing of the journalist shows it all.
“Journalists are paying the price for their impartial reporting with their lives. The journalist’s body was found in a septic tank in Sai Raj,” Baij said.
However, the congress leader’s involvement in the killing looks evident due to the corruption exposed in the road construction. Congress should first understand that law and order are being deteriorated by its local leaders.
