What we know about Mukesh Chandrakar, and his channel Bastar Junction

The recent murder of Mukesh Chandrakar in Chhattisgarh has once again brought to the fore the perils and the challenges that the journalists face while reporting from a conflict zone.

Chandrakar had been consistently reporting from Bastar, the hotbed of Naxalism in Chhattisgarh, contributing as a stringer for newspapers and news channels for almost a decade, before launching his own YouTube channel called Bastar Junction which has 1.82 lakh subscribers as of today.

Aware of life-threatening consequences of “any misstep” in Naxalite-infested areas, Chandrakar walked a fine line while reporting from the interiors of Bastar. The risks for journalists in Bastar may be gauged from the fact that the Naxalites killed two journalists, Nemichand Jain of Sukma and Sai Reddy of Bijapur, for allegedly being police informers, in 2013. In 2018, Doordarshan cameraman Achyutanand Sahu was killed in a Naxalite ambush in Dantewada.

Also read: Chhattisgarh: 3 held for journalist’s murder; main accused on the run

Humble beginnings

Mukesh was born in Basaguda in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, a village that was among the worst affected in the mid-2000s when armed militias and Naxalites unleashed violence.

He was the younger of two brothers. His father passed away when Mukesh was just a toddler and the two brothers were raised by their mother who earned a meagre wage as an Anganwadi worker. His family became the victims of the violence caused by the paramilitary outfit Salwa Judum and was forced to live in a refugee camp after being displaced twice. His mother died of cancer in 2013. He tried his best to save her but all he had was mere Rs 50,000.

With meagre source of income, the family had witnessed tough times as they could not even afford to buy milk during his childhood. Mukesh even sold mahua liquor and worked as a bike mechanic to eke out livelihood for his family.

Stepping into journalism

Inspired by his elder brother Yukesh, who was working as a freelance journalist, Mukesh developed a liking for the profession that soon turned into his passion.

During initial days, he used to work for local newspapers and channels, getting small stories published here and there. The pay was meagre and often, the stories were published without credits. However, after learning the ropes of the profession, he started working as a stringer for several news channels, including Sahara, Bansal, News18, and NDTV, and made a name for himself by doing ground reports from encounter spots deep inside forests that are typically Naxal territory.

It was commendable to say the least as he overcame challenges like physical threats and lack of financial support. Being a journalist in Bastar is no easy job as media houses offer meagre amounts – at time as little as Rs 300 per report, forcing many to double up as marketing or circulation executives for them, surviving on commission rather than salaries. Some of the journalists in Bastar run grocery shops or sell forest produce to earn bread and butter for their families. It often forces them to make compromises, as they avoid writing anything critical of the authorities.

Share of encounters

Mukesh too had his share of encounters. In 2015, the Naxalites had held Mukesh and his brother at gunpoint at Nambi in Usoor, asking them what they were doing in that area of Naxalite influence.

However, it didn’t deter him in helping other journalists navigate the state, as he often took them to hard-to-reach areas on his motorbike.

In June 2021, after covering protests against a new CRPF camp in Silger, he and his colleagues were stopped more than 30 times by the security forces while travelling from Bijapur to Silger.

He also received phone calls from top cops cautioning him that he was under surveillance. Three protesters were allegedly killed in police firing in Silger the previous month.

Hogging the limelight

After chasing exclusive and special reports for news channels as a stringer for almost a decade, Mukesh launched his own YouTube channel, Bastar Junction, in 2021.

Also read: Mukesh Chandrakar murder: Murdered journalist's heart was ripped out, says autopsy

His career peaked in the same year when he was among a group of seven journalists who helped security forces negotiate with Naxalites to safely bring back CoBRA jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas from their captivity.

The abduction had become a national headline as Manhas had gone missing during a Naxalite attack on security forces in which 22 personnel were killed. “National channels were taking my bytes. But unfortunately, at my own channel, my editor-anchor hogged away the space…It was then I felt that if I’ve bigger stories, people would watch me,” Chandrakar had told Outlook at the time.

Bastar Junction

Mukesh’s YouTube channel, Bastar Junction, became reasonably popular over a period of time, adding to his clout among police officials, politicians, industrialists and contractors.

It also brought some stability to his life as he had started earning well, earning up to Rs 20,000 a month, and once even Rs 50,000.

The Federal explored his YouTube channel and found that he covered a wide variety of issues affecting the lives of people in Naxalite-infested areas of Chhattisgarh, ranging from human interest stories to infrastructure woes like lack of roads and water supply facilities, from encounter of Naxalites to ground reports to check veracity of government claims, from families of tribals, killed in fake encounters, seeking justice to showcasing the customs and food habits of tribal communities.

Many of the videos on his YouTube channel were about protests by villagers in Bastar, providing them a platform to take their voice to the world. The impact of his channel can be gauged from the fact that a bridge which the residents of a village were demanding for 4 years got sanctioned within three days of him airing the news about it. He also aired a report about how the residents of another village built a temporary bridge after their pleas for one fell on deaf ears.

Mukesh also used to look beyond the usual news reports as you may find a report on climate change on his channel, in which he explains as to what exactly is the phenomenon and how it is affecting people. He also did a news report on how the Naxalites plant IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and how the security forces diffuse them.

Silencing journos

Significantly, days before the killing of Mukesh Chandrakar, award-winning journalist Malini Subramaniam highlighted how local journalists work under pressure in Bastar.

“Local journalists are pressured to remain silent. To the outside world, Chhattisgarh seems fine due to developmental projects, but the real question is: Who benefits from them,” she wondered, urging for greater attention to the plight of indigenous people.

The last report

Mukesh did a report, which was aired on NDTV on December 25, highlighting the poor condition of a road in Bijapur, after which the government initiated an inquiry.

The contract for the ongoing road project between Gangalur and Nelsnar had been sanctioned in parts to entities. One of the major chunks of the work was being handled by a local construction company, owned by three Chandrakar brothers— Dinesh, Ritesh and Suresh. Mukesh was distantly related to them.

The entire project initially had an outlay of Rs 56 crore, which over time more than doubled to Rs 120 crore. According to police sources, it was Mukesh's news report on the delay in the Nelsnar-Gangalur road that allegedly upset Suresh, as it alleged corruption in the road project and prompted a government inquiry.

It is claimed that before Mukesh went missing, the Chandrakar brothers had, on January 1, called him to their home.

The prime suspect

The prime suspect in Mukesh’s murder case, Suresh Chandrakar, had been in the spotlight in the past for his lavish lifestyle.

His ostentatious wedding in 2021 was talk of the town in the Naxalite-affected Bijapur. A private chopper was hired to transport Suresh’s bride from Jagdalpur while foreign dancers were brought in to perform at the wedding.

Also read: Chhattisgarh journalist murder: Main accused Suresh Chandrakar arrested

The lavish wedding underlined the meteoric rise of Suresh from being a cook and a Special Police Officer (SPO) in the now outlawed militia Salwa Judum to a private contractor hired for the state government’s multi-crore road projects all in a matter of 10 years.

Having joined the Congress in the early 2010s, Suresh was also made an “election observer” in Maharashtra Assembly polls last year. Though the Congress admitted that he was a party worker, the party also claimed that he had “joined the BJP in December”. However, the Congress hasn’t provided any proof yet to back this claim.

Meanwhile, the PWD department has cancelled all three of his road projects and suspended his contractor licence after his arrest. The murder investigation has also prompted GST raids at Suresh’s residence. Six of his bank accounts have also been frozen.