Rajeev Pratap, a 36-year-old journalist from Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, went missing on September 18, 2025, two days after publishing an investigative report on his YouTube channel regarding poor conditions and alcohol consumption outside Uttarkashi District Hospital. According to his wife, Muskan, Rajeev received numerous phone threats demanding he delete the video. On the night of September 18, Rajeev left home, stating he was traveling toward Gangori and Bhatwari; his last phone call with his wife occurred at 11:00 PM. On September 19, a missing person complaint was filed. Police and SDRF recovered his empty Alto vehicle from the Bhagirathi River with one slipper inside. On September 28, 2025, his body was recovered from Joshira Barrage and identified by his wife. While police investigate whether the incident was an accidental car crash—noting CCTV footage showed him driving alone—his family alleges he was abducted and murdered in a planned conspiracy due to his reporting.
Country: India
State/Province: Uttarakhand, India
City/Region: Uttarkashi
Incident Type: Murder
Relationship Status: Married
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Incident Date: Sept. 18, 2025
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2025-09-18
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English labels are shown first. Original-language titles are preserved for source verification.
Crime Tak - India · Original language: Hindi
कैसे एक Reporting ने Journalist Rajeev की ली जान?लापता होने के अगले दिन मिली CAR,लेकिन लाश 10दिन बाद
Unknown
This case does not involve an interpersonal or romantic relationship dynamic. The conflict stems entirely from the victim's public investigative reporting on civic and institutional mismanagement at Uttarkashi District Hospital, which reportedly provoked threats from unidentified callers and led to his disappearance and death.
Note: This case is not primarily relationship-driven. Police and SDRF recovered Rajeev Pratap's empty Alto car from near the Bhagirathi River on September 19, finding one slipper inside. On September 28, his body was recovered at Joshira Barrage. Police reviewed CCTV showing him driving alone near a bus stop on September 18 and are investigating both accidental crash and murder theories, awaiting the official post-mortem report.
Police lean toward an accidental crash theory because CCTV footage on September 18 showed Rajeev driving alone in his vehicle. Conversely, his wife alleges a planned murder and staged crash, citing coercive threats he received to delete his investigative video and the absence of his body inside the submerged car.
On September 16, 2025, Rajeev Pratap uploaded a video exposing hospital negligence and scattered alcohol bottles at Uttarkashi District Hospital. Over the next two days, he received threatening calls demanding the video's removal. On September 18, he drove toward Gangori and Bhatwari, last speaking to his wife at 11:00 PM. His phone became unreachable by 11:50 PM. His car was found submerged in the Bhagirathi River on September 19 without him inside, and his body was recovered 10 days later on September 28 at Joshira Barrage.
Independent journalists reporting on institutional corruption or illegal activity face heightened external situational risks, including coercion, threatening phone communications, and potential physical violence or staged accidents.
Threats following public exposures should be treated as high-risk security indicators. When vehicles are found submerged without occupants in riverine environments, thorough search and forensic analysis are required to evaluate staging versus accidental submergence.
Multiple threatening phone calls received by Rajeev Pratap immediately after uploading his hospital investigative video on September 16, 2025.
The discovery of his empty vehicle near the Bhagirathi river with a single slipper inside, alongside CCTV footage showing him driving alone shortly before his phone went offline.
The published YouTube video, victim's phone communication records, CCTV footage from near the bus stop, the recovered Alto vehicle, and the body recovered at Joshira Barrage.
Rajeev's wife, Muskan, stated that Rajeev was anxious and scared due to repeated calls demanding he remove his video. She reported their last call was at 11:00 PM on September 18, and firmly maintained his death was a planned murder staged as an accident.
Initial missing person reporting led to the discovery of his submerged vehicle on September 19, while the recovery of his body on September 28 shifted the case from a search for a missing person to an active death investigation awaiting autopsy findings.
It remains unresolved whether Rajeev's vehicle went off the road due to an accident or whether he was abducted, killed, and the crash staged by unidentified individuals.