Family of murdered Bastar journalist to be given Rs 10 lakh aid: Chhattisgarh CM

The family of murdered Bastar journalist Mukesh Chandrakar will be given Rs 10 lakh in aid, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai announced on Tuesday.

The chief minister added that a building for journalists would be built in Chandrakar’s name.

Mukesh Chandrakar, 33, went missing on January 1. His body was found two days later in a septic tank on a property in Bijapur owned by a contractor named Suresh Chandrakar.

Mukesh Chandrakar ran the YouTube channel Bastar Junction, frequently investigating and reporting on corruption, tribal rights and insurgent violence in the conflict-hit region of the state.

पत्रकार मुकेश चंद्रकार के परिजनों को हमारी सरकार द्वारा 10 लाख रुपए की सहायता राशि दी जाएगी, साथ ही उनके नाम पर पत्रकार भवन का निर्माण कराया जाएगा। pic.twitter.com/XRuQf9uZfa— Vishnu Deo Sai (@vishnudsai) January 14, 2025

A Special Investigation Team looking into the case has alleged that Suresh Chandrakar, a government contractor and a relative of the journalist, planned the killing in retaliation for Mukesh Chandrakar’s reporting.

The journalist had uncovered alleged corruption in a road construction project in Bastar contracted to Suresh Chandrakar.

Earlier this month, several organisations representing journalists expressed shock at Mukesh Chandrakar’s killing and demanded that the Chhattisgarh government ensure a speedy investigation.

The Press Club of India urged the state government to look into the “long-standing demand of local journalists to...

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