Madhya Pradesh Police’s Special Task Force on Friday said journalist Chandrika Rai, who, alongwith his wife and children, was murdered earlier this month, had been blackmailing the gang responsible for a recent kidnapping.
Six persons have been arrested in the case. “Chandrika Rai knew the kidnappers who had recently kidnapped the son of PWD engineer Hemant Jharia. He started blackmailing them which resulted in the murders,” said superintendent of police, Manohar Singh Jhamra.
Amit, one of the kidnappers, worked under Jharia as a daily labourer. He and others kidnapped Jharia’s son Anant on February 15, and demanded a ransom of Rs 5 crore.
One of the kidnappers, Home Guard member Vidhyaniwas Tiwari, was Rai’s neighbour. According to Jharia, Rai learnt who the kidnappers were, and started blackmailing them.