Two days after he went missing in Bijapur, a journalist was found dead in a tank near the home of a local contractor, who police said had been upset with him over a news report, according to The Indian Express.
According to an NDTV Rajasthan report, the contractor is absconding. The body has been sent for postmortem.
Mukesh Chandrakar ran a YouTube channel called Bastar Junction and had previously worked on reports for several media houses. His brother had reportedly filed a missing person complaint on Thursday, January 2.
Just hours before the body was found, the journalist’s brother had also uploaded a video on Chandrakar’s channel, asking for help. “My brother is a real hero. I don’t feel like I am his elder brother today. It seems I have lost a child today,” he said.
Bijapur police had formed a special team to search for the journalist and found that a local contractor was angered by a news report that Chandrakar had done, according to the report.
During a search at the contractor’s premises, the police found the body in a septic tank near his house. The contractor is the main suspect but his role is yet to be ascertained.
Chandrakar had earlier reported on health facilities in Bijapur and Maoist violence. His last video on the channel was uploaded 11 days ago, about a kidnapping and murder carried out by Maoists.
This report was originally published in Newslaundry and can be accessed here.