Charred remains of missing RTI activist found in forest; 4 arrested for murder

Charred skeletal remains of a missing Right to Information RTI activist have been found in the forest in Chhattisgarhs Kabirdham district and four persons have been arrested for the alleged murder police said on SaturdayThe accused also buried the victims motorcycle to conceal the offence they saidVivek Chaubey 32 an RTI activist who also worked as a journalist for a local newspaper left his home in Kawardha town on November 12 and did not returnA missing person complaint was registered on November 16 at the local police station Kabirdham district Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh saidChaubey had been last seen heading towards Kundapani village so police launched a search for him in that area A cash reward was also announced for information about him the SP saidThe area is close to the Maoisthit region along the ChhattisgarhMadhya Pradesh borderAlso Read Chhattisgarh 14yearold boy held for raping and killing 8yearold girl in RaipurIn the meanwhile the sarpanch of Bokkarkhar village now one of the accused also announced a cash reward for information about Chaubey which made police suspicious the SP saidSubsequently based on a tipoff fully burnt skeletal remains were recovered in the forest near KundapaniForensic tests confirmed that it belonged to an adult male Singh saidDuring interrogation the Sarpanch and his three associates confessed to have committed the murder following which they were arrested on Friday he saidIn his statement the accused sarpanch said Chaubey was with him till late on November 12 night An argument broke out between them following which he hit Chaubey on the head with a stick leading to his death the SP saidThe four accused then took the body into the jungle and burnt it using wood They also dismantled the victims motorcycle in three parts and buried it in the forest and kept his mobile phone with them Singh addedThey also tried to mislead police by making calls from Chaubeys phone from different places to make it look like he was alive and on the move the senior official saidA case has been registered and further investigation is underway the SP addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever