Police have made significant arrests in the murder case of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar in Bijapur. A team investigating the case took action on Wednesday, arresting five officials from the Public Works Department (PWD). The arrested officials include two retired Executive Engineers (EEs), one current EE, one SDO, and one sub-engineer. All have been sent to two-day judicial remand and are being questioned.
**Arrested Today:**
1. D.R. Sahu (Retired Executive Engineer)
2. V.K. Chouhan (Retired Executive Engineer)
3. H.N. Patra – The then Executive Engineer
4. Pramod Singh Kanwar – SDO Bijapur
5. Santosh Das – Sub-Engineer, Jagdalpur
**On Remand:**
1. Suresh Chandrakar
**On Anticipatory Bail:**
1. B. L. Dhruv – The then Executive Engineer
2. R.K. Sinha – SDO
3. G.S. Kodopi – Sub-Engineer
### Body Found in Closed Septic Tank
Mukesh Chandrakar left his home on January 1, 2025, and never returned. His body was recovered on January 3 from a closed septic tank. The main accused in this heinous murder, contractor Suresh Chandrakar, was arrested by the police from Hyderabad.
**Motive for the Murder**
Mukesh Chandrakar was an independent journalist who was active in the Naxal-affected area of Bijapur. He was continuously exposing corruption in road construction. He had highlighted the substandard road construction work on social media and his video portal. It is believed that contractor Suresh Chandrakar, who was also Mukesh’s relative, plotted his murder after being angered by these reports.
