More than a month after he went missing, the charred skeletal remains of Right to Information activist Vivek Chaubey have been found in a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, PTI reported on Saturday, citing the police.
Four persons have been arrested after they confessed to have murdered Chaubey and burnt his body, the police added, according to The Indian Express. Amit Yadav, the village head of Bokkarkhar village in Kabirdham district and three of his associates told the police that they killed Chaubey following an argument.
Chaubey, 32, who also worked as a journalist for a local newspaper went missing since November 12 after he left his home in Kawardha town for work. A missing person complaint had been filed on November 16, Kabirdham District Superintendent of Police Lal Umed Singh said.
The police also announced a cash reward for information on Chaubey’s whereabouts. But they grew suspicious about Yadav when he announced a similar cash rewards separately, the police superintendent said.
Based on a tip-off the police later found fully burnt skeletal remains were recovered in the forest near Kundapani area of the district. Forensic reports confirmed that the remains belonged to an adult male, PTI reported.
“In his statement, the accused sarpanch [village head] said Chaubey was with him till late on November 12 night,” the police officer told the news agency. “An argument broke out between them, following which he hit Chaubey on the head with a stick, leading to his death.”
The village head and his three associates then took Chaubey’s body to the forest and set fire on it. They also dismantled Chaubey’s motorcycle into three parts and buried it in the forest, the police said.
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