CBI finds no evidence in JNU student Najeeb Ahmed’s 2016 disappearance. Court accepts closure report; family still awaits answers.
New Delhi: Today, on June 30, a Delhi court on Monday accepted the closure report submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the long-pending case of missing Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student, Najeeb Ahmed.
Najeeb had gone missing on October 15, 2016, and despite years of investigation by both Delhi Police and the CBI, his whereabouts remain unknown even today.
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Najeeb Ahmed was a 27-year-old MSc student at the School of Biotechnology in JNU. According to reports, he allegedly got into a physical argument with some members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student organisation, just before he went missing.
The incident caused huge outrage across student and political circles, with many accusing the university and investigating agencies of negligence.
Recently, the CBI informed Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari at Rouse Avenue Court that they could not record the statement of a doctor at Safdarjung Hospital—where Najeeb was allegedly taken after the scuffle.
The CBI stated that there was no documentation available from the hospital visit.
According to the agency,
“no document pertaining to his hospital visit existed,”
and they claimed that Najeeb returned to the hostel without preparing any medico-legal case report.
Despite various efforts, the CBI stated that they could not find any evidence in the case. After several attempts to gather information and locate Najeeb failed, the CBI filed its closure report in 2018.
Before the case was transferred to the CBI, Delhi Police had also conducted its investigation but could not make progress in tracing the student.
Delhi Police had filed a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with
“kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person.”
A reward of Rs 50,000 was also announced for anyone who could provide information about Najeeb’s location.
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The police identified nine suspects and even checked CCTV footage from nearby metro stations. Wireless messages were also sent out to senior police officers across the country the same day he went missing.
Additionally, four separate police teams were dispatched to possible routes like Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Bulandshahr, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, and Rampur.
On December 19 and 20, 2016, the Delhi Police conducted a massive search operation involving over 500 police personnel on the JNU campus.
They searched every area including classrooms, hostels, water tanks, and septic tanks.
However,
“all their efforts turned out to be futile.”
Najeeb’s mother, Fatima Nafees, expressed disappointment with the police’s progress. In late 2016, she moved the Delhi High Court by filing a habeas corpus petition asking the court to ensure her son’s production.
After six months, on May 16, 2017, the High Court handed the case over to the CBI for a more detailed and professional investigation.
However, a year later, on May 11, 2018, the CBI informed the Delhi High Court that
“it had found no evidence of any crime committed against Najeeb.”
The CBI’s investigation included interrogating 26 people, including JNU staff, students, and officials. The agency also searched mortuaries in 12 different cities and scanned railway records over an entire year, hoping to find some clue.
Unfortunately, all these efforts led nowhere, and the CBI could not reach any definitive conclusion.
After Najeeb’s disappearance, huge protests broke out in and around the JNU campus. Students sat in protest outside the Vice Chancellor’s office and accused the administration of not taking the matter seriously.
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Many student organisations blamed the university’s Vice Chancellor for what they saw as inaction and carelessness.
“Various student wings pinned the blame on the VC for allegedly failing to act decisively in the matter.”
Case Title:
CBI v Final Report (Najeeb Ahmed Missing Case)
Read Judgement:
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