Missing Bihar journalist's burnt body found by roadside

A callous murder has shocked the residents of Bihar's Madhubani district after the body of a local journalist and RTI activist was found burnt and tossed by the side of the highway that passes through Betoun village. The body was identified on Saturday as that of Buddhinath alias Avinash Jha, 22, a journalist working with a local news portal.

Jha went missing on Tuesday (November 9) and was captured leaving his house via a CCTV camera installed near his house in Lohia Chowk, Benapatti, only 400 m from the local Benapatti police station. When he did not return for several hours his fearful relatives filed a complaint after which police launched a manhunt only to reach a dead end as his mobile phone had been switched, meaning they could not track him further than Betoun, 5 km away.

The burnt body was found on Thursday, after which relatives reached the spot to formally identify it. The remains were sent for immediate postmortem after which they were handed over to the family of the murdered journalist for his last rites. Several reports have also emerged which suggest the body was found tied in a sack and dumped under a tree.

It is alleged that he may have been targeted for his work exposing 'fake clinics', which had led to the closure of several clinics in the neighbourhood. Jha had reportedly received threats for his work and offers of bribes which he had refused. He disappeared two days after uploading another series of posts about clinics on Facebook. Locals have now pointed fingers at the police, asking how such a brutal kidnapping and murder could take place right under the nose of the local law enforcement.

Chandrashekhar Jha, the brother of the deceased Avinash Jha said that his brother had been trying for years to bust the nexus of private hospital operators, staff and authorities scamming the people of the district, due to which he was on the radar. He named several local hospitals and nursing clinics which he said were involved.