Mukesh Chandrakar, a 32-year-old local journalist based in Bastar, Chhattisgarh, who went missing on January 1 from Bijapur, has been found murdered.
According to local sources, his body was recovered from a septic tank on a property owned by a road contractor named Suresh Chandrakar. Mukesh had previously reported for NDTV on an alleged scam involving Suresh, which led to a government inquiry. Local sources believe this may be the motive behind his murder.
Yukesh Chandrakar, Mukesh’s brother, had filed a missing person complaint with the police after Mukesh failed to return home.
Mukesh was also the founder of the Bastar-based YouTube news channel Bastar Junction, which has 159,000 subscribers. The channel is known for its coverage of Adivasi issues, including reports on the alleged aerial bombing of Adivasi villages by security forces.
Meanwhile, local journalists have dismissed allegations made by some media outlets that Maoists were behind the murder.
The body has been sent for a postmortem examination.
