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Coming Out Soon! “The Selectorate”, By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

In The Selectorate, Chidi Anselm Odinkalu dismantles the long-held myth of judicial independence in Nigeria and across Africa. He argues that the judiciary, far from being neutral arbiters of justice, has evolved into an unelected political elite, determining the fate of democracy from the courtroom rather than the ballot box. As electoral legitimacy shifts from voters to judges, the judiciary becomes a “Selectorate,” wielding power that undermines the very foundations of democracy.

The-Selectorate-Cover-and-back

Judicial independence is often celebrated as a cornerstone of democracy, but Chidi Odinkalu challenges this assumption. In colonial Nigeria, judicial officers were never truly independent; they served at the pleasure of the colonial masters. Decades later, military and civilian regimes alike co-opted the judiciary for political ends. Through historical analysis and contemporary case studies, The Selectorate exposes how the judiciary has been shaped not by ideals of justice but by obedience to power. This book is an urgent call for citizens to reclaim democratic participation from the grip of unelected elites.

Amnesty Int’l demands justice for Bumpa co-founder Adetunji Opayele who was hit and abandoned by healthcare professional

Amnesty International has called for justice over the death of the co-founder of a tech startup firm, Bumpa, Adetunji Opayele, alias Teejay.

Mr Opayele, 31, was involved in an accident on March 4, 2025, while riding his power bike on his way from the gym along Ozumba Mbadiwe in Victoria Island, Lagos.

The driver, Biola Adams-Odutayo, reportedly failed to yield the right of way while merging onto the expressway, striking Teejay and leaving him unconscious on the road.

Adams-Odutayo, said to be a healthcare professional, was alleged to have refused to help the injured because she did not want blood stains in her car.

Opayele was reportedly taken to a hospital, but medical personnel there refused to attend to him.

He was eventually admitted to another hospital, where he was declared dead after midnight.

Reports say Adams-Odutayo was arrested and charged with reckless driving but was released on bail.

Reacting to the matter in an X post on Saturday, Amnesty International said: “Biola Adams-Odutayo’s reckless and lawless driving killed Adetunji Opayele (TeeJay), the Co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Bumpa. Nigeria’s corrupt law enforcement is letting her get away with murder.

“This crime must not be covered up. Relevant Nigerian authorities must ensure that justice is done now.”

The incident has since sparked widespread anger, with over 35,000 Nigerians signing a petition on Change.org, demanding justice.

Petitioners have also demanded that the Lagos State Ministry of Justice oversee a thorough investigation and ensure proper prosecution.

[Video] US lawmaker tells UK reporter to ‘go back to your country’ after being asked about Yemen attack chat leak

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, has triggered controversy after asking a British reporter from Sky News, “Why don’t you go back to your country?”

The confrontation started when the journalist attempted to ask questions about the Signal group chat that leaked military plans to strike Houthi targets.

As the reporter asked her the question, Greene became visibly frustrated and responded, “We don’t give a crap about your opinion and your reporting. Why don’t you go back to your country?”

She pointed at the journalist, who identified herself as being from the United Kingdom and questioned the reporter’s interest in the US and its national security. “You should care about your own borders. Let me tell you something, do you care about people from your country?” Greene asked the reporter.

The Georgia representative then made an unsettling comment, saying, “What about all the women that are raped by migrants, do you care?”

It is not the first time Greene had made such comments. In 2022, she directed similar remarks towards British journalist Siobhan Kennedy from Channel 4. However, this confrontation with the Sky News reporter drew significant attention, especially as C-SPAN cameras captured the exchange.

To shift focus from the debate, Greene called an American journalist who attempted to turn the discussion back to the British reporter’s question.

“I’m not answering her question because I don’t care about her network,” Greene said, refusing to answer on the Signal chat.

Instead, she shifted the focus to US military security and Trump’s approach to border control.

“You want to know about complete disregard for operational security? You should talk about the Biden administration how they ripped our borders open to terrorists, cartels, child sex trafficking, human trafficking, and drug trafficking across our borders for four years,” Greene said.

Bar owners in custody over alleged rape and sexual assaults on 41 women

Three bar managers in Belgium are among five men who have been arrested in connection with an investigation into the rape and sexual assault of dozens of women, local police say.

Prosecutors said the suspects were linked to the spiking of drinks of at least 41 female victims from December 2021 to December 2024.

The three suspects ran the establishments in the north-western city of Kortrijk where the spikings took place. Investigators say they believe they discussed the attacks with each other.

The Western Flanders public prosecutor’s office said in total, five men were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday in connection with the investigation into spiking.

The prosecutors disclosed that the two men who were arrested appeared before an investigating judge on Thursday.

Another two men are still being questioned by detectives while the fifth man has been released after being interviewed.

The men are suspected of rape, sexual assault and illegal administration of harmful substances, the prosecutor’s office said.

Officials believe drugs were mixed into the women’s drinks, including ketamine, a general anaesthetic used for recreational purposes because of its hallucinogenic effects.

“The young women were offered shots of alcohol, often with an amaretto flavour, after which they woke up the next morning groggy in an unknown bed or in their own bed with clear evidence of sexual abuse,” Tom Janssens, another spokesman for the prosecutor’s office spokesman, told Flemish public television VRT.

Outraged parents tackle Ogun school where incisions were made on children’s bodies

Two parents have accused a private school in the Arepo area of Ogun State of carrying out unauthorised incisions on their children’s bodies.

The parents told PUNCH Metro on Tuesday that the incision resulted in health complications in their children.

One of the affected parents, Abosede, the mother of a four-year-old young boy identified simply as Alamis, said she discovered the incision on her son’s stomach on March 2.

She claimed to have initially noticed the mark after Alamis complained of persistent itching on the side of his stomach.

Abosede explained that three weeks after discovering the mark, her son fell ill and had to be taken to the hospital, where doctors confirmed that the incision had caused an infection.

She said, “On March 2, my son started to complain that a side of his stomach was etching him. When I checked, I saw an incision on his body. When I asked what happened, he said he did not know who did it. When I saw the incision, it looked like he was sleeping when they did it because the marks were not straight.

“He talks a lot, so if he was conscious, he would tell me who did it. The third week after I saw it, he fell sick, and I took him to the pharmacy and from there took him to the hospital where they said the incision caused the infection. They later prescribed some drugs which he used and was later getting better.”

Her concerns, however, grew when another parent, whose daughter attends the same school, reported a similar mark on her child’s body.

“The following day, I took him to my shop to monitor him. While I was in the shop, another parent who had enrolled her daughter in the school came and told me she had found a similar incision on her daughter’s body. I am a Muslim, and my son attends only Arabic and home lessons. The woman is a Christian, so the only connection between her daughter and her son is the school.”

Speaking on a similar discovery, Oluwatoyin Adurogboye said she noticed some changes in her three-year-old daughter, Karla, when she returned from school on February 28, adding that she thereafter fell sick.

According to her, Karla had just recovered from malaria and an infection a week earlier. When her condition worsened, they rushed her to the hospital, where she was placed on oxygen due to breathing difficulties.

She said, “I went to pick her up from school on February 28, and anytime I do that, we are always gistin,g but that very day, she got in the car and slept off. She slept for six to seven hours that day. When we got home that day, I pulled her uniform, and I saw a scratch on her spin, but I thought it was just a scratch. So I left her with my sister and nephew and went to my store. While I was in the store, my sister called me three different times, saying that she was still sleeping and also running a temperature. Meanwhile, she was treated for malaria and infection a week before then.

“When I got home, she still had a high temperature. Even when she woke up, she was not active. The following morning, she started coughing and vomiting. We later took her to the hospital and ran a test, but the doctor said there was no malaria or infection in her body.

We later took her home, but the situation got worse, and we went back to the hospital, and she was admitted and placed on oxygen after the doctor discovered she had shortness of breath.”

She however, disclosed that while in the hospital, she noticed the mark again, and when she asked her about it, she tried to say something but could only mutter ‘my teacher’ five times before stopping.

She said, “While in the hospital, I saw the mark again, and when I asked her, she said my teacher five times and couldn’t talk again. It was when we got home and I asked her again that she said it was her aunt that put pepper on her back in the school bathroom.

“I called my husband and sent the picture to him. I also showed it to my sister, and they all confirmed it was an incision. I did not put an incision on my child’s body, and it was when I got to Mrs Abosede she confirmed it on her son’s body too.”

The two mothers thereafter took their complaints to the school, but they claimed the proprietress denied any wrongdoing.

According to Karla’s mother, the proprietress told them to consider other places where their children might have got the marks, insisting that it did not happen in the school.

She added that when she requested to review the CCTV footage, the proprietress informed them that the cameras had not been functioning for several days.

“We also requested that she call her workers so that my daughter could identify the person, but she declined. We went to the station the following day, and they invited her, and she said again that she had checked the footage and that she could not find anything. When we asked her to play the footage, she only played it from the hours of 10 am to 12:15 pm. When asked what happened between 12pm and 2pm, she said there was no light, and my husband immediately told her that the school has an inverter. Then, she said again that the inverter was not working that day.”

While Abosede’s family dragged the school to court, Karla’s parents called on the authorities to investigate the development while also insisting on seeing the remaining part of the CCTV.

The proprietress did not respond to calls made to her phone. However, she sent a text message, stating she would return the call. She had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.

FG reveals that Immigration Officer was not shot on orders of Chinese expatriate

The Federal Government on Friday said further investigations into the shooting of a personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service NIS around a Chinese company in Niger State, have shown that the officer was not targeted.

Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the Minister of Interior, Babatunde Alao in an updated statement, said “the officer was hit by a stray bullet that was neither shot on the order of the Chinese company nor its employee”.

Accordingly, he said the Federal Government has launched full scale investigation into the shooting of the personnel in collaboration with other security agencies.

“This is to unravel the detailed circumstances surrounding the shooting while giving assurance that anyone found culpable will be brought to book.

“The Minister reaffirms his strong commitment to ensuring the safety, dignity, and professional integrity of all law enforcement officers.

“He emphasizes the government’s ongoing support for law-abiding businesses in Nigeria and reiterates the Ministry of Interior’s dedication to fostering strong partnerships with foreign nationals, aiming to build sustainable collaboration for social economic development”, the statement added.

‘Felix that couldn’t deliver pizza’

By Olusegun Adeniyi

At the instance of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and his Rwandan counterpart, President Paul Kagame met in Doha last week in a bid to end the ongoing war in the DRC. The mindless violence in the eastern part of the country, according to the United Nations, has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in history, impacting nearly seven million people—half of them children. The situation is becoming even more dire with the recent capture of two major cities in eastern DRC, Goma and Bukavu, by Rwanda-backed M23 rebels. But in Doha, both Kagame and Tshisekedi agreed on an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire” that seems easier said than done.

Instructively, at about the time the two leaders were meeting, a video was trending on social media of an interview granted by Kagame where he brutally disparaged his Congolese colleague. “You know Felix (President Tshisekedi) spent many years in Belgium. He was a taxi driver. He was many things of that kind but with a very bad reputation. He was employed by an Italian man, an old man now, who had a shop selling pizza. Felix used to deliver Pizza for him,” Kagame claimed in the interview. “When this old man heard that Felix had become president of his country he said, ‘Oh, my God! Felix that couldn’t even do the job of delivering pizza, how did he become president?’”

I shared the anecdote at the 60th birthday colloquium in honour of Hon Emeka Ihedioha on Monday. Chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, I had been conscripted to discuss the paper presented by Bishop Hassan Matthew Kukah on the theme, ‘Is Democracy failing in Africa?’ along with Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and Mr Peter Obi, both of whom need no further introduction. The moderator, Maupe Ogun-Yusuf of Channels Television, had sought our views on whether democracy is indeed failing on the continent. With Tambuwal answering ‘No’ and Obi saying ‘Yes’, I responded with, ‘Yes and No.’ As a member of the birthday planning committee chaired by former Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke (who decreed that I be on the panel at the last minute), we were deliberate about the kind of conversation we wanted to provoke.

After the session, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim (also needs no further introduction) told me that he thought my punchline would be that a man who could not deliver pizza would be incapable of delivering democracy and good governance to his people as president. That precisely was the point Kagame made, but I was hesitant to amplify his message that if Tshisekedi was found wanting in the simple task of prompt pizza delivery, it was expecting too much to saddle him with presiding over one of the most resource-endowed countries in Africa. Although I made the point in passing, I deliberately avoided pushing the envelope because it would detract from my central argument within the three minutes I was given. Besides, I had my doubts about the veracity of Kagame’s claim.

From my online check, the report Kagame alluded to was published by a Rwandese journalist, Tom Ndahiro who referenced a Belgian publication. One Francisco Piscopo, owner of Pizzeria Godo in Brussels, was said to have recalled his time employing Tshisekedi for three years. “He runs Congo the same way he delivered pizzas: always late, disorganized, and with missing funds that no one can explain” Piscopo reportedly said. “If I could give him one piece of advice, it would be to take his responsibilities more seriously.” I have read reports which suggest that the story was made up since Tshisekedi comes from a privileged background. His late father, Étienne Tshisekedi, was Prime Minister of Zaire in the 90s. When children of African leaders go to school or reside abroad, they rarely do odd jobs such as selling pizza. Therefore, I would rather take the Felix who couldn’t deliver pizza as a metaphor. I will come back to this shortly.

Every democracy, Kukah said in his thought-provoking presentation, is a work in progress. “Democracy gives you the opportunity to try if you failed and gives you a greater opportunity to correct the former mistakes,” the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese stated. Tambuwal shared his position, but Obi disagreed. Obasanjo, of course, took a different slant. ‘Western type democracy’, he argued, seems too frail a plant to survive the African climate because it has been reduced to “government of a small number of people, by a small number of people, over a large number of people who are deprived of what they need to have in life.” My problem with Obasanjo’s thesis, on which he has been very consistent, is that it presupposes that the pre-colonial leadership model offers better prospects of delivering the public good.

It is interesting that just about a week ago, Obasanjo publicly lamented the process of selecting traditional rulers in the country. “Today, there are criminals, drug addicts, vagabonds, bandits and kidnappers as so-called traditional rulers” Obasanjo said. “This is a great pity, and it has greatly contributed to the problems of Nigeria. How do we account for a traditional ruler snatching a ballot box at an election polling station and running away with it?” he queried. Reflecting on the past, Obasanjo said traditional rulers used to command respect, particularly during the colonial and early post-independence periods, but not anymore. “The class of traditional rulers with their distinction, honour and dignity, as we knew them in the colonial days and early post-independence days, has been diluted and polluted.”

Although the former president is yet to clarify his thoughts on ‘Afro-democracy’ (perhaps he needs to write a book on the issue), it looks to me like a throw-back to the era of the all-powerful traditional ruler who cannot be questioned (‘Kabiyesi’ in Yoruba parlance). “It’s now our responsibility to chart our own course. Western liberal democracy introduced the concept of opposition, equating it with enmity. Yet, there’s nothing inherently African about this model,” Obasanjo told a House of Representatives delegation last year when they came to seek his support for their bill to replace the current presidential system with the parliamentary system we practiced in the First Republic. Incidentally, I also had an informal session with prominent members of the group in Abuja last year, and I made it clear to them that the challenge of democratic governance in Nigeria comes more from the operators than the constitution or the system of government. For instance, if the same traditional institution that worked in the past is now ‘diluted and polluted’, why does the former president believe that changing the system of government in Nigeria will not suffer a similar fate since it would be operated by the same set of people?

Indeed, nothing illustrates the crisis of the traditional institution better than the process that eventually culminated in the enthronement of the current Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade. A former vice-chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University and globally renowned traditionalist, Professor Wande Abimbola, 92, whose intervention eventually led to a resolution of what had become a logjam, revealed some sordid details. “The kingmakers were consulted to pick a successor, and then interested individuals started giving hefty money to influence their decision. This later divided the rank of the kingmakers because they discovered that the money their leader shared to them was a far cry from what he collected,” Abimbola revealed while explaining how he was asked by Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to consult the Ifa Oracle on the matter. “The five kingmakers had earlier supported a particular prince who gave them the heaviest sum but after discovering the act perpetrated by their leader, two of them backtracked. They reached out to the government to say they were no longer in support of the candidate, adding that they just discovered that the money their leader collected from the said prince was incredibly heavy from which he gave them peanuts.” In Yorubaland today, according to Abimbola, enthroning a king is now a cash-and-carry affair. “They would buy generators, cars and what have you for the kingmakers to influence the process. The kingmakers may collect money from a hundred candidates, it’s the highest bidder that they will give the stool to. That’s how they are doing it now.”

The lesson is that there is no system that cannot be compromised. So, at the end of the day, it’s about fidelity to the rules of engagement by the operators and being accountable to the people. But before I conclude, let me come back to the Rwandese journalist who amplified the statement of his president to knock Tshisekedi. According to Ndahiro, the fortune of a country is determined by the leader. So, if such an individual lacks the requisite qualities of discipline, honesty and dedication to duties, it is their people who would suffer the consequences. “The man who once struggled to deliver pizzas in Brussels and now struggles to deliver governance in the DR Congo, serves as a lesson in why evaluating a leader’s past is critical to understanding their potential for national leadership”, Ndahiro wrote, while highlighting what he sees as the failings of Tshisekedi.

 I do not agree with the clearly partisan premise of Ndahiro, but it is difficult to fault his thesis that a leadership recruitment process that ignores such important factors is doomed. Therefore, whether it is ‘Western style democracy’ or the traditional system of the pre-colonial era, if the person at the helm is a ‘Felix that couldn’t deliver pizza’, the system would also not deliver on the public good.

Since whatever goes for Nigeria goes for Africa, the crisis of democracy on the continent is the result of a combination of history, cultural deformities and impunity by a succession of leaders. In post-colonial Africa, the traditional codes of competence, discipline and integrity have also been superseded and replaced by the anarchy of cultism, the worship of corrupt money and transactional religion. And democracy or whatever other system we come up with can only reflect these factors in our contemporary society. The pertinent question therefore is, how do we enthrone a system that shuts out those like ‘Felix that couldn’t deliver pizza’ from critical leadership positions?

That for me is the real challenge across board, and in all spheres of our national life.

Bereavement of Wunti, Ehusani

Hajiya Aishatu Al Mustapha died last week in Bauchi State. She was the mother of my friend, Bala Wunti, the Chief Health, Safety and Environment Officer of the NNPC Ltd. May God comfort the family she left behind. And may He grant her Aljannah Firdaus. Also yesterday in Abuja, I attended the Service of Songs and Mass for Mama Catherine Matureyi Ehusani, mother of Father George Ehusani, who also preached a very powerful sermon at the occasion attended by many Catholic priests, including John Cardinal Onaiyekan. She will be buried today in Okene, Kogi State. In the tribute to his late mother written as a poem, Father George recollects: Like a weary caravan sighting an oasis/I skid at my mother’s love/With a smile as wide as the sea/For an embrace as deep as the ocean.

May she find perfect peace and may God continue to comfort the family. 

 Ayo Olukanni @ 70

Former Nigeria ambassador to Australia with concurrent accreditation to New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, Mr Ayo Olukanni, is 70 today. A career diplomat who had at various times also served in Brussels, New York, Tel Aviv, Nairobi, Vienna etc was for four years the Director General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) after his tour of duty in foreign service. I first met Olukanni when I was presidential spokesman, and he was spokesman to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time. Despite being senior to me in age and not minding his public service experience and exposure, he treated me with much respect and sought the assistance of my office all the time. With that, we worked seamlessly together. As he joins the elite Septuagenarian Club today, I can only wish him happy birthday, long life and good health.

• You can follow me on my X (formerly Twitter) handle, @Olusegunverdict and on www.olusegunadeniyi.com   

Federal College of Education, Bichi, Kano State, allocates N1billion for perimeter fence, N120million for hostel, clinic rehabilitation in 2025

A review of the approved 2025 budget by SaharaReporters shows that the Federal College of Education, Bichi, Kano, has allocated N1 billion for the construction of perimeter fencing.

In contrast, only N70 million has been earmarked for renovating student hostels, while N90 million is set aside for classroom and office renovations. The rehabilitation of the college clinic is expected to cost N50 million, and N60 million is allocated for the purchase of computers for various units within the school.

Budget documents also reveal that the college plans to spend N5 billion on building infrastructure and facilities.

Nigeria’s Federal College of Education, Bichi, Allocates N1Billion For Perimeter Fence, N120Million For Hostel, Clinic Rehabilitation In 2025

The allocations have raised concerns about the prudent use of public funds.

The Federal College of Education, Bichi, has long faced concerns over the state of its infrastructure.

In 2023, the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Federal College of Education (FCE) Bichi Chapter, raised alarms about the poor condition of academic facilities.

Despite receiving allocations and funds from TETfund, laboratories, workshops, and studios were reportedly operating below standard due to inadequate equipment and consumables.

Staff welfare has also been a major issue. The union highlighted unpaid staff allowances, the mismanagement of NHIS funds, and the failure to remit pension contributions, Federal Mortgage Bank dues, union check-off dues, and staff cooperative deductions—some of which had been outstanding for several months.

SaharaReporters

Nigerian Soldiers protest over 2 years’ deployment without rotation in North West, say: ‘We’re exhausted, our fighting spirit is gone’

Nigerian soldiers deployed in Operation Fansan Yamma, North West, have expressed frustration over the military’s failure to rotate them, citing a lack of funds.

The troops, who were initially assigned a six-month deployment, have now spent two years and six months on the frontlines without being allowed to return home, SaharaReporters can report.

Despite being overdue for redeployment, the soldiers say they are repeatedly told there are no funds to facilitate their return. Many of them have not seen their families in years, leading to exhaustion and demoralisation.

“About the ill-treatment, we are facing here in Operation Fansan Yamma North West. And the most important thing is that we are due for rotation from the operation but up till now, they keep telling us no funds to change us back and see our family,” one of the affected soldiers lamented.

“For two years and six months, we have been in this operation. Initially, we came to the operation to spend six months. On reaching the operation ground, the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, turned it into two years but now we are overdue without any hope of being rotated.”

Operation Fansan Yamma, North West comprises Katsina and Zamfara states.

The soldiers who spoke to SaharaReporters described their prolonged stay as unbearable, saying their families are desperate to reunite with them.

“That is what always makes us demoralised and exhausted for over two years in one place. Our families are eager to see us; they refuse to rotate us,” a soldier said.

They also accused the military of double standards, pointing out that troops sent to Maiduguri, Borno state after them had already been replaced.

“Meanwhile there are soldiers who went to Maiduguri after we had gone to the operation for almost three months. They have changed them but they are not saying anything about our matter.”

The troops also admitted that their morale had collapsed after years without proper rest or support.

“Our fighting spirits have died, we are just fighting to survive,” a soldier stated.

They criticised the military’s failure to honour leave policies, noting that while they are entitled to a two-week pass every three months, they have waited for two years and six months without being granted.

“The pass is supposed to be after 90 days that’s informed of leave in a civil organisation. After every three months, we are entitled to two weeks pass, that’s 14 days. But we have spent two years and six months,” the soldier added.

The soldiers are now pleading with authorities to address their plight, urging them to provide the necessary funds to rotate them after two years and six months in the operation.

Credit SaharaReporters

Man buries yoga teacher alive for allegedly having an affair with his wife

Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious! But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead. The Holy Bible; Proverbs 17-18.

A man said to be a yoga teacher has been murdered over an alleged affair. 

He was buried alive in December 2024, but his body was just discovered on Monday, 24 March, after the police arrested the accused following a long investigation. 

The accused, who lives in Haryana’s Rohtak, India, reportedly discovered that his tenant was having an affair with his wife, so he organised with his friends to kidnap his wife’s lover and then bury him alive in a 7-foot deep pit in a field, police said.  

According to police officials, Hardeep found out that Jagdeep, who lived with him in a portion of his house as a tenant and taught yoga at the Baba Mastnath University in Rohtak, was allegedly having an affair with his wife. He paid some people to dig a 7-foot deep pit in Pantavas village of Charkhi Dadri – telling them it was for a borewell – and bided his time.  

On December 24, Hardeep and some of his friends kidnapped Jagdeep – who was originally from Mandothi village in Jhajjar district – after he returned from work. 

Jagdeep’s hands and legs were tied, and he was beaten up as the group took him to the pit in Charkhi Dadri. 

Once there, Hardeep and his friends taped Jagdeep’s mouth so that he couldn’t make any noise and threw him in the pit, filling it with mud to bury him alive. 

A missing person’s complaint was filed at the Shivaji Colony Police station on January 3, 10 days after the murder. The police found no leads until they accessed Jagdeep’s call records some time ago and found enough evidence to detain Hardeep and one of his friends, Dharampal. 

After presenting them in court and getting their custody, police officials began interrogating the two men, who revealed the details about the killing.  

The body was recovered on Monday, March 24, exactly three months after the murder.  

“There are other accused in the case who will also be arrested soon. The post-mortem has been conducted, and we are waiting for the report,” said the Crime Investigation Agency unit in charge Kuldeep Singh.

Watch a video of the body recovery below.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1905184454240526666