Sand mafia involvement alleged but police say associates killed him

Nagpur: Police in Madhya Pradesh have identified a charred body, found near railway tracks, as that of an abducted journalist.

The body of Sandip Kothari was found close to the station at Sindhi in Wardha district of Maharashtra.

He was abducted from Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Sunday.

Balaghat police described Kothari,40, as former journalist who had turned “a history-sheeter.”

The Bahujan Samaj Party as demanded a probe into the murder by the Central Bureau of Investigation, saying the sand mafia has tormented his family after he had “exposed” their activities.

Local legislator Kishore Samrite claimed that Kothari was falsely implicated in more than 12 criminal cases. He said Kothari had written against manganese and sand mafia and other mighty people involved in organized crimes.

A senior journalist from Balaghat told The Indian Express: “Kothari was a fearless journalist, who had written many times about the manganese mining mafia in the district and had antagonized many influential people and politicians. Most cases against him were false and fabricated.”

Kothari was abducted on June 19 when he was going to Umri village with his friend on his bike.

Two persons, Brijendra Geharwar and Vishal Tandi, both from Katangi, have been arrested in connection with the murder. The third suspect Rakesh Naraswani is absconding, according to Additional SP, Balaghat, Neeraj Soni.

“The arrested and the absconder were in fact his associates in many cases and their friendship had turned into rivalry. The three had allegedly implicated him in a rape case in which he was discharged. The enmity could be due to the case.”

Kothari’s murder could lead to some interesting facts, given that the complainant against him in the three alleged rape cases was the same.

The rape cases were registered in Balaghat district, Gobarvahi situated on Balaghat border in Bhandara district of Maharashtra and Bela in Nagpur district.

While Kothari was discharged in Balaghat case by the court, no chargesheet could be filed in Gobarvahi case due to lack of evidence.