Hi,

We at The Reporters’ Collective were angry and upset. Mukesh Chandrakar, a fellow journalist, had been killed for reporting on a substandard road in Bastar, Chhattisgarh. We backed three of his friends and colleagues to tell the story of his murder. 

Over two months of reporting, we realised the story of Mukesh’s murder is the story of Bastar’s people. It is an account of Mukesh’s homeland. In this story, his colleagues, Malini Subramaniam, Pushpa Rokde and Raunak Shivhare, tell us how both Mukesh, the journalist, and Suresh, his alleged murderer, started from the same village, Basaguda, but took rather different routes to survive the development of Bastar. 

For this investigation, the three authors worked quietly to dig out records, speak to sources, government officials, citizens of Bastar and people who preferred to stay off the record for the sake of their safety. All this, in a region that is besieged by armed conflict between the Maoists and the state armed forces. 

I request you to take some time out to read this story. It is our homage to Mukesh. It's our small attempt to ensure journalism does not die where it’s most needed –  at the peripheries of our nation’s imagination. 

This investigation was enabled by donations from over 100 citizens who responded to our call for help and funded the project. Thank you all who keep The Reporters’ Collective going in the face of adversity. 

The link to the story: www.reporters-collective.in/special/what-killed-mukesh-chandrakar
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With warm regards,
Nitin Sethi
Founding Editor