Najeeb Ahmed
Born1989
India
Disappeared15 October 2016 (age 27)
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
StatusMissing for 7 years, 2 months and 24 days (Case closed by CBI. No progress made — 2016-10-15).
NationalityIndian
EducationM.Sc (Biotechnology)
Parents
  • Nafees Ahmed (father)
  • Fatima Nafees[1] (mother)
"Where is Najeeb" graffiti in front of the Central Bureau of Investigation headquarters, New Delhi. (The CBI headquarters is on the opposite side of the road, not pictured.)

Najeeb Ahmed was a student of JNU New Delhi, India, who went missing from his hostel on the university campus under suspicious circumstances on 15 October 2016.[2][3][4]

Disappearance

Najeeb Ahmed was a newly enrolled student at JNU. He resided at the Mahi-Mandavi hostel on the university campus for less than a week before he disappeared. His family, as well as the JNU Students' Union, have consistently maintained that Ahmed's disappearance was linked to an assault which occurred the previous night. Ahmed was attacked by nine members of the ABVP after they had allegedly knocked on his door seeking votes for an upcoming hostel election.[5]

Subsequently, his family demanded that the proper investigative agencies look further into the assault and his disappearance.[6] On 25 November 2016, Ahmed's mother, Fatima Nafees, filed a habeas corpus petition before the Delhi High Court, claiming that the Delhi Police had failed to make any progress in the month after her son's disappearance.[7]

Investigation

The police filed a First Information Report (FIR) for kidnapping and wrongful confinement based on Fatima Nafees's complaint on 15 October 2016.[8] Premier investigative agencies in India, including a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Delhi Police, the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), have been unable to find any leads. All of these agencies were reprimanded by the Delhi High Court at various points for their poorly executed investigation into the case.[9][10] The Delhi police spent approximately 24,55,600 rupees (US $32,869.53 as of 1 November 2020) advertising Ahmed’s disappearance.[11]

After 25 days, the investigation was transferred to the Crime Branch. CCTV footage was found that led the investigators to identify the rickshaw that Ahmed reportedly took from the JNU campus.[12] The mobile phones of the nine ABVP members accused of assaulting Ahmed were sent by the CBI to the forensic science laboratory in Chandigarh and 122 gigabytes of data were extracted from six of the phones. However, the data did not reveal any relevant information.

On 29 June 2017, the CBI announced a reward of 1 million rupees (US $13,385.54) for information about Najeeb Ahmed.[13]

In one of their submissions to the Delhi High Court, the CBI accused the Delhi Police of forcing a false statement from an auto driver who said that he had driven Ahmed to Jamia Milia Islamia on the day of his disappearance.[14] The Delhi Police had used this fabricated evidence to pursue a theory that Ahmed had left the campus on his own volition.[15] It had also used Ahmed's medical history to assert that he was mentally disturbed.[16][17] After being unable to prove any connection between his medical condition and his disappearance, the Delhi Police quietly dropped this line of investigation.[18]

Fatima Nafees issued legal notices to prominent publications including Times of India, Times Now, and Zee News for falsely reporting that her son had connections to the terrorist group ISIS.[19]

In May 2019, the court asked the CBI whether Ahmed is alive or dead, to which the CBI responded that the last time Ahmed was seen was with his friend, and he must have been in hiding. His mother Fatima Nafees opposed the statement and demanded a hearing.[20]

Role of JNU administration

The JNU administration was accused of partisanship and inaction in protecting the 9 students accused of assaulting Ahmed by the JNU student community. They blockaded the administration for 20 hours on 23 October 2016[21] because it had issued circulars calling Ahmed "an accused" which angered students on campus. The administration also issued a 25-point bulletin on Ahmed which did not mention his assault the night before. The JNU Teachers' Association blamed them for being apathetic and showing bias in how the issue was handled.[22] They also criticized the bulletin for 'selectively omitting' the fact that Ahmed was attacked during a brawl a night before.[23] Fatima Nafees also accused the JNU administration of insensitivity.[24]

Activism by Fatima Nafees

Fatima Nafees has frequently joined activists in protests against the central government and the JNU administration. She joined the JNU Students Union in the Light a Ray of Hope protest in 2016.[25] She addressed a campaign by Jamaat-e-Islami's student organization, SIO, on 22 March 2017 and also inaugurated an exhibition by the SIO in Malappuram in 2018.[26] Fatima Nafees joined Kavitha Lankesh, Professor Apoorva and Shaista Parveen, in a public meeting in Delhi’s Jantar Mantar for the third anniversary of Ahmed's disappearance, joining BSP minister Danish Ali, author Arundhati Roy, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan, and St. Stephen’s College professor Nandita Narain in 2019.[27] She also joined N Sai Balaji, the National President of All India Students' Association, at JNU on 23 November 2019,[28] then campaigned for Kanhaiya Kumar in Begusarai during the 2019 parliamentary elections.[29] Fatima Nafees joined Nadeem Khan of "United Against Hate", who is also an Assistant Secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, at a press conference on 4 October 2019.[30][31]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bhandari, Hemani (9 October 2017). "Waiting for 'JNU boy' Najeeb Ahmed, who went missing without a trace in 2016". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Wahab, Hisham ul (19 October 2016). "Najeeb Ahmed Kidnapped from JNU Campus: Admin and Police keep mum". Muslim Mirror. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  3. ↑ "Probe finds ABVP member guilty of assaulting Najeeb". The Hindu. 21 November 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "'Will Send Najeeb to 72 Virgins': JNU Student Recalls Mob's Threat". The Quint. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Bhardwaj, Ananya (27 January 2020). "Case of JNU's missing Najeeb — a search abandoned but a mother determined to fight on". ThePrint. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "Bring Back Najeeb". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  7. ↑ Legal, India (4 September 2018). "Najeeb disappearance: Delhi HC reserves order". India Legal. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "JNU student claims that attempts were made to kill the missing student Najeeb". The Indian Express. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Court raps police for shoddy Najeeb Ahmed probe - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  10. ↑ "Delhi High Court scolds CBI over inaction in Najeeb case". dna. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  11. ↑ Younus (11 January 2019). "Delhi Police spent approx. Rs 24 Lakhs for Najeeb's advertisement". Siasat Daily. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  12. ↑ Inside story of the hunt for Najeeb Ahmed, the JNU student who disappeared into thin air, Ananya Bhardwaj and Kritika Sharma, The Print, 13 October 2018
  13. ↑ CBI’s Rs 10 lakh reward for information on JNU student, Two Circles, 29 June 2017
  14. ↑ "Cops forced auto driver to say he dropped JNU student Najeeb Ahmed at Jamia: CBI in High Court". The Indian Express. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  15. ↑ "Delhi police traces auto driver who ferried missing JNU student Najeeb". 16 November 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  16. ↑ "Police Claim Najeeb Was 'Mentally Disturbed' As Family Moves Court". HuffPost India. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "Najeeb Was Not Mentally Disturbed: Missing JNU Student's Brother". The Quint. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  18. ↑ "CBI Ends Search For JNU Student Najeeb Ahmed, Missing For 2 Years". NDTV.com. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  19. ↑ Fatima Nafees issues legal notice to Times of India, Times Now, Zee News, etc. for false reportage on Najeeb, TCN News, 7 April 2017
  20. ↑ Is Najeeb Ahmed alive or dead? Court asks CBI, Rasia Hashmi, Siasat daily, 16 May 2019
  21. ↑ ScoopWhoop (20 October 2016). "After A 20-Hour Stand-Off Over Missing Student, JNU Vice Chancellor Allowed To Go". ScoopWhoop. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  22. ↑ "Continued Absence of Najeeb Ahmad—Letter to the Editor". Economic and Political Weekly. 50 (23). 5 June 2015.
  23. ↑ "Missing student: JNU teachers' association slams varsity administration for its 25-point bulletin - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  24. ↑ "Missing student: Najeeb Ahmad's family slams police, JNU admin". The Indian Express. 28 October 2016. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
  25. ↑ JNU to have sombre Diwali with sit-in, prayers for Najeeb, 30 October 2016
  26. ↑ SIO and GIO hold state conference in Kerala; Fatima Nafees attends, Najiya O, TwoCircles.net, 28 December 2018
  27. ↑ Proud of Being Known As Najeeb Ahmed’s Mother, Says Fatima Nafis, Poorvi Gupta, 16 October 2019
  28. ↑ Najeeb's mother 'Ammi' visits protesting students at JNU, lends her support, Prajanma Das, EDEX Live, 21 November 2019
  29. ↑ Najeeb’s mother to campaign for Kanhaiya in Begusarai, Times of india, 9 April 2019
  30. ↑ Campaign to begin demanding justice for Najeeb, Subodh, Sahil, Asia Hashmi, Siasat Daily, 4 October 2019
  31. ↑ "Delhi Waqf Board gives Rs 5 lakh to family of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed". The New Indian Express. PTI. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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