Najeeb Case: Students and Politicians Protest Demanding Justice

More than 600 students, politicians and activists marched in protest from Mandi House to the Parliament on Wednesday. The protest was called by Najeeb Ahmed’s family, who are demanding a status report for the investigation of their son, a 27-year old Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU) student who went missing from the campus on October 15, 2016.

In a report released on December 8, the JNU administration confirmed that a scuffle between Ahmed, a first year MSc, Biotechnology student and ABVP members resulted in his disappearance.

The report, which was approved by the Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar , vice chancellor, JNU, recommends immediate hostel-transfer of the students involved in the scuffle.

Despite several agencies like Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) and the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police investigating the case, there has been no development.

The student’s union and student political groups at JNU have demanded stricter punishments for the accused students. They have accused the administration of succumbing to political pressure from the BJP-led NDA government and the RSS. The protesting activists claim that Najeeb’s Muslim identity is a key element in his disappearance.

The protest was joined by students from different organisations and politicians from Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen.

While politicians criticised the government’s attitude towards minorities across the country, students carried posters saying, ‘Where is Najeeb’ and ‘Find Out Najeeb’.

Dharmendra Yadav, Samajwadi Party MP from Badaun, said, “Delhi Police is trying to implement the RSS agenda and the Centre is unable to protect all its citizens. The leaders of BJP are incompetent and have failed to understand the pain of Najeeb’s mother.”

Several students questioned the role of the JNU vice chancellor and Delhi Police. “The VC has no justifications for his inactions. He has failed the student community whom he was supposed to protect,” said Subhanshu Singh, a PhD student at Centre for Political Studies.

Najeeb’s mother spoke about the “terrible loss” that the family is enduring. She thanked the JNU students for their continued support in the movement and urged for a greater unity amongst the protestors.

Meanwhile in JNU, students have been protesting against the shrinking spaces of dissent in the campus. Earlier this week, the administration installed grill gates outside Freedom Square, the administration building. The gates make it impossible for students to hold night-long protests. The entire space has now been blocked by flower pots placed by the administration.