Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh): A journalist was allegedly kidnapped and burnt alive by mining mafia in Madhya Pradesh's Balaghat district on June 19, police said.
Alleged mining mafia burned Sandeep Kothari when he refused to withdraw a case he had filed in court.
The burnt body of Sandeep was found in Wardha district, Maharashtra on Saturday night. 2 persons have been arrested so far and one accused is still absconding.
“We have arrested 2 people and based on interrogation inputs we came to the spot where the body was burnt,” police inspector Sanjay Chaukse said.
The two arrested accused have been identified as Vishal Dandi and Brijesh Duharwal.
The third accused, who is on run, has been identified is Rakesh Nasvani.
"They are related to manganese mafia... My brother was a good journalist. He exposed many of their corrupt practices," said Naveen Kothari, the brother of Sandeep Kothari.
According to reports, Sandeep was abducted on the night of June 19, while going to Umri village in Balaghat. He was riding a bike with a friend when it was hit by a car.
Three persons came out of the car and beat up his friend before taking off with the journalist.
The 40-year-old Sandeep was working as a local correspondent for a Jabalpur-based Hindi daily. He had filed a case of illegal mining in a local court and was under pressure to withdraw it.
Earlier this month, in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, a journalist, Jagender Singh, was allegedly set on fire by policemen allegedly on the orders of a state minister. He died a week later, on June 8.
