A Delhi court on Monday allowed the CBI to close the case of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, missing since 2016 following a scuffle with the RSS-backed ABVP, saying the agency had “exhausted all options”, but hoped he would be traced soon.
Reacting to the verdict, Najeeb’s mother, Fatima Nafees, told The Telegraph that she would consult a lawyer and decide the next legal step.
“As a parting note, the court also earnestly hopes that Najeeb Ahmed shall be traced soon,” additional chief judicial magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari said in her 29-page order, expressing regret that “while the proceedings in the present case end with this closure report, a closure for Najeeb’s mother and other loved ones still eludes us”.
Taking into account the closure report, according to which no information regarding Najeeb had been received despite the years-long investigation, the court said: “The truth may elude us, but the quest for truth must go on unwavering and undeterred.”
Maheshwari granted liberty to the CBI to reopen the case if it gets credible information on Najeeb’s whereabouts.
“I have not spoken to our lawyer yet. I do not keep well these days. After our lawyer explains to us what the court has said, we will decide what to do next,” Fatima said over the phone from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh. Her advocate, Chinmay Kanojia, said they would decide on whether to approach a higher court only after reading the order copy.
Despite her ill health, Fatima visits JNU every year on October 15, the day Najeeb went missing in 2016 after a clash with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The JNU Students’ Union marks the day with a candlelight vigil.
On October 15, 2016, Najeeb, a master’s student at JNU, Najeeb, was reported missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel following a scuffle with some students allegedly associated with the ABVP. Unable to find his whereabouts, the CBI decided to close its probe in October 2018.
On the directive of Delhi High Court, the investigation of the case was transferred to the CBI from the Delhi police on May 16, 2017. The order came on a plea from Fatima, who was dissatisfied with the police’s probe.
A year later, the CBI informed the high court that it was unable to locate Najeeb. Later, Fatima sought the constitution of an SIT probe but the plea was declined by the high court.
On Monday, the Delhi court noted that the CBI has investigated all plausible avenues available in the case. Considering the plight of an anxious mother and the CBI’s effort in the probe, the court said the agency cannot be faulted for the failure to find Najeeb.