Bijapur, Jan 5 (PTI) Members of the Mahar community on Sunday took out a candle march to condemn the murder of journalist Mukesh Chandrakar in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur town and demanded capital punishment for the accused.

The candle march started from Ambedkar Bhawan and culminated at Jaistambh Chowk.

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Patron of Mahar Samaj RD Jhadi said all the accused involved in the murder should be given stringent punishment.

"We demand creating a conducive environment for journalists wherein they can independently report news," he said.

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The body of freelance journalist Mukesh Chandrakar (33) was found on January 3 in a septic tank on a property owned by Suresh Chandrakar, a contractor, at Chattanpara Basti in Bijapur town, two days after he went missing, police said.

While Suresh Chandrakar is absconding, his brothers Ritesh Chandrakar and Dinesh Chandrakar have been arrested along with supervisor Mahendra Ramteke in connection with the murder.

Chhattisgarh government has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident.

Mukesh Chandrakar worked as a freelance journalist for the NDTV news channel and also ran a YouTube channel, 'Bastar Junction', which has some 1.59 lakh subscribers.

A news report highlighting alleged corruption in a road construction work in Bijapur aired by the news channel on December 25 is being discussed as the likely motive behind Mukesh Chandrakar's murder. The said construction work was linked to contractor Suresh Chandrakar.

The administration has initiated action against the accused's illegal properties and encroachments. A construction yard built by Suresh Chandrakar after usurping forest land along Bijapur-Gangaloor Road has been razed, local officials had said.

Police also started the process to freeze the bank accounts of Suresh Chandrakar and other accused. So far three accounts of Suresh Chandrakar have been put on hold.

Mukesh Chandrakar had 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 were martyred.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)