Chhattisgarh CM announces Rs 10 lakh aid to murdered journalist's family
Raipur, Jan 14: Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Tuesday announced an aid of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar, who was murdered in Bijapur district earlier this month.
Talking to reporters at the helipad in Police Lines, Sai said a building will be constructed for scribes and named after the slain journalist.
Freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar (33) went missing on January 1. His body was found on January 3 in a septic tank on a property owned by road contractor Suresh Chandrakar at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town.
Suresh Chandrakar, the prime accused, was arrested from Hyderabad on January 5, while his brothers Ritesh and Dinesh and supervisor Mahendra Ramteke were arrested earlier.
Sai said, "The family of the deceased journalist will be given Rs 10 lakh assistance. A building will be constructed for journalists, and it will be named after him."
The special investigation team probing the case has said the accused, Suresh Chandrakar, the slain journalist's relative, was enraged after the latter published a news report highlighting alleged corruption in his road construction work in Bijapur.
Mukesh Chandrakar worked as a freelance journalist for the NDTV news channel and ran a YouTube channel, 'Bastar Junction', which has around 1.59 lakh subscribers.
He played a crucial role in the release of CoBRA commando Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from Maoist captivity in April 2021 following the Takalguda Naxal ambush in Bijapur, in which 22 security personnel died.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is a specialised jungle warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma earlier claimed that Suresh Chandrakar was a Congress leader. The opposition party, however, claimed he had recently joined the ruling BJP.
The state Public Works Department (PWD) has suspended the accused road contractor's registration and cancelled contracts allotted to him.
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Rahul Gandhi joins Haryana Congress leader's 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined the 'Sadbhav Yatra' of Haryana Congress leader Brijendra Singh here.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Gurugram in the evening and joined the yatra. He also walked some distance with Brijendra, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and other leaders.
Huge crowds had turned up for the occasion.
Later, Gandhi proceeded to the venue where he addressed a public gathering.
Leader of Opposition in Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala, B K Hariprasad, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, were also present.
Brijendra Singh had on Thursday said it is a matter of joy for them that Gandhi was joining the 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram-Badshahpur, "thereby strengthening the Indian National Congress' campaign for brotherhood and harmony".
The 'Sadbhav Yatra' began from Danoda village at Narwana in Jind on October 5, 2025, and has covered 85 of the 90 assembly segments in the state.
The foot march was started by Brijendra Singh, son of Congress veteran Birender Singh, to highlight several national and regional issues.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh had asked all party leaders to take part in Friday's event.
Days before his yatra began in October, Brijendra Singh, who narrowly lost the 2024 assembly polls from Jind's Uchana Kalan, accused the ruling BJP of playing "divisive politics" and said that "sadbhav" (harmony) has come under stress in the last decade.
Brijendra Singh was a sitting MP from Hisar for the BJP when he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election and switched over to the Congress. He also alleged that the saffron party creates a wedge in society to achieve its political purpose.
The 'padyatra' has so far covered 85 assembly constituencies in Haryana, traversing more than 2,700 kilometres.
Addressing the public gathering, Brijendra Singh said the yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he took the party's vision and values directly to the people of the country.
Singh said the yatra has highlighted issues like "Vote Chori" (vote theft), unemployment, poor law and order situation, agrarian distress, and issues related to government employees, labourers and traders.
"Sadbhav (harmony) and bhaichara (brotherhood), which the BJP is attempting to weaken, are the messages of this yatra," he said, adding that its slogan is "Congress ka haath bhaichara ka saath".
"This yatra is a natural extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Brijendra Singh said.
