BBC Hindi
Najeeb Ahmed’s household9 years in the past, an Indian pupil vanished into skinny air.
Najeeb Ahmed was finding out biotechnology on the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru College (JNU) in Delhi, when he mysteriously went lacking in October 2016.
The evening earlier than his disappearance, the then 27-year-old who lived in one of many college’s residential hostels was concerned in a scuffle with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing pupil group. The scholars have denied any involvement in his disappearance.
For years, India’s crime-fighting company, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been attempting to determine what might have occurred to Mr Ahmed – the company took over the case from metropolis police in 2017.
Now a court docket in Delhi has lastly shut the investigation after the CBI mentioned it had exhuasted all attainable leads within the case.
“As a parting word, the court docket earnestly hopes that Najeeb Ahmed shall be traced quickly,” the court docket mentioned within the order, which was introduced final month.
Mr Ahmed’s household, nevertheless, have alleged the inquiry was not performed in a correct method and mentioned they might enchantment the choice in the next court docket.
“What message does it ship, that India’s premier investigating company has not been capable of finding a lacking pupil from one in every of India’s greatest universities?” Mr Ahmed’s mom Fatima Nafees advised BBC Hindi.
“We is not going to surrender till we discover our son.”
Born in a village in Uttar Pradesh, Mr Ahmed, the son of a carpenter, was the eldest of 4. His household made many sacrifices to assist his JNU training.
“After finishing his undergraduate diploma, he was adamant that he wished to review at JNU,” Ms Nafees mentioned.
“I advised him you’ll be able to take admission, however you will not keep within the hostel. You might be too naive. However he did not hearken to me.”
Hindustan Instances through Getty PhotosOn the evening of 14 October, 2016, Mr Ahmed reportedly acquired right into a scuffle with a bunch of scholars affiliated to ABVP who had been campaigning for hostel elections. JNU is thought for its vibrant and intense pupil politics, with ideological teams typically clashing over campus points.
In his testimonies to the CBI, his roommate Mohd Qasim mentioned that Mr Ahmed acquired injured within the altercation and needed to be taken to a public hospital, the place he was allegedly refused therapy.
The medical doctors advised him they may not deal with his wounds with no formal crime grievance having been made to the police, his roommate alleged.
In response to the court docket order, Mr Ahmed selected to not file a grievance and returned to campus. He went lacking the subsequent day, forsaking his cellphone, pockets, and garments in his hostel room.
A CBI report says Mr Ahmed final used his cellphone and laptop computer round 10am the day he disappeared. A hostel warden advised the company that he noticed Mr Ahmed getting right into a tuk-tuk within the morning and leaving campus.
Ms Nafees, who had been knowledgeable of the scuffle over cellphone by Mr Ahmed’s roommate, was on her approach to Delhi to see her son. She arrived within the morning and upon discovering him lacking, filed a lacking individuals grievance on 15 October 2016.
For days, there was no progress. Protests erupted on campus as college students and activists accused authorities of inaction.
In November 2016, Ms Nafees filed a petition within the Delhi Excessive Court docket, accusing the police of being “sluggish, misdirected and subjective” and known as for a court-monitored probe.
A month later, Delhi Police performed two in depth searches utilizing sniffer canine throughout JNU’s sprawling campus – however once more, nothing was discovered.
In Could 2017, the court docket handed over the investigation to the CBI.
A yr later, the CBI advised the court docket it had exhausted all attainable leads – and requested the bench to shut the case.
The company mentioned it had examined greater than 500 witnesses, collected data from taxi, bus, practice and flight operators, and searched hospitals and morgues, however had discovered nothing.
A a million rupees [$11,600; £8,600] reward for data about Mr Ahmed additionally didn’t yield outcomes, investigators argued.
The case dragged on for 2 extra years, when in 2020, Ms Nafees returned to court docket, this time to problem the CBI’s conclusions.
She alleged the company didn’t correctly probe the scholars concerned within the scuffle along with her son. She mentioned they’d a “clear motive”, had threatened him, and may have been arrested. The CBI denied all allegations saying they’d left “no stone unturned” in searching for Mr Ahmed.
The company mentioned it had tracked the cellphone places of the 9 college students concerned within the struggle with Mr Ahmed that evening, however discovered no proof linking them to his disappearance.
Hindustan Instances through Getty Photos)Explaining its resolution to lastly shut the case, a court docket in Delhi mentioned that the CBI has investigated “all believable avenues” totally however “no credible data” could possibly be obtained about Mr Ahmed’s whereabouts.
The decide dismissed Ms Nafees’ plea, noting that whereas witnesses confirmed verbal threats, there was no “direct or circumstantial” proof linking Mr Ahmed’s disappearance to the struggle with ABVP members.
“Such scuffles and exchanges aren’t unparalleled” within the charged environment of JNU, the order added.
The court docket, nevertheless, added that the CBI might reopen the case if new data involves mild.
The order has been an enormous blow for Mr Ahmed’s household and well-wishers.
Colin Gonsalves, who represented Ms Nafees within the Delhi Excessive Court docket in 2018, mentioned he nonetheless questioned the investigation.
“The police routinely arrest folks for minor crimes in India. It is stunning then, that not one of the college students had been taken into custody for questioning,” he mentioned.
Ms Nafees alleges that her son’s faith had affected the seriousness of the investigation.
“If the sufferer had been a Hindu boy, would the police have responded the identical method?” she requested.
“They might have demolished the homes of these suspected,” she alleged, referring to the rising cases the place houses of people accused of crimes are bulldozed by Indian authorities. The BBC has reached out to the CBI for remark.
Nonetheless, the company has persistently maintained that they’ve carried out the probe impartially. In 2018, the Delhi Excessive Court docket had mentioned that they’d discovered no proof that CBI investigated the case unfairly or “underneath political compulsions”.
Ms Nafees says she’s not finished combating. Each 15 October, the day her son vanished, she joins a candle march at JNU in his reminiscence. The hope has dimmed, however the wait continues.
“Typically I ponder if I ought to put a nameplate outdoors our home,” mentioned Nafees Ahmed, his father.
“Our home has been renovated. What if he comes, however cannot recognise it?”
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