HYDERABAD: Suresh Chandrakar, the main accused in the murder of Bastar journalist Mukesh Chandrakar and his distant relative, was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Chhattisgarh police in Hyderabad late on Sunday.
According to the police, Suresh was hiding at his driver’s home in Hyderabad. The accused, a contractor, was brought to Bijapur on Monday morning and his interrogation was underway, the police said.
Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj confirmed the arrest. PTI quoted him saying that further searches were on.
Cops refuse to share details of arrest
“Absconding accused Suresh Chandrakar, involved in the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, was arrested late at night in Hyderabad. Apart from Suresh, three other accused already arrested are Ritesh Chandrakar, Dinesh Chandrakar (both cousins of Mukesh) and Mahendra Ramteke (a supervisor). We are further investigating the matter,” the IGP was quoted as saying.
“We cannot reveal further details on the arrest yet as it might alert others associated with the case,” he said. The police believe that Mukesh’s murder is directly linked to his expose of corruption in a road project undertaken by Suresh.
Earlier, the Chhattisgarh authorities demolished “illegal” property owned by the accused on Saturday. As per reports, Suresh’s wife has also been taken into custody by police in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district for interrogation. Four bank accounts linked to Suresh were also frozen.
The police on Saturday had arrested three persons, including Ritesh Chandrakar and Dinesh Chandrakar, both brothers of Suresh.
The 33-year-old journalist had gone missing on January 1 after he was scheduled to attend a meeting with Suresh Chandrakar.
Following this, Yukesh Chandrakar, elder brother of Mukesh, lodged a missing person complaint on January 2. Mukesh’s body was found in a septic tank in the premises owned by Suresh on Friday evening.
Mukesh, who used to freelance for a couple of national media houses, had his own YouTube channel ‘Bastar Junction’.