Darkness has clouded one of the most prestigious universities in the country as Najeeb Ahmed, a student of the School of Biotechnology of Jawaharlal Nehru University has been missing since 15th October, 2016 with no record of his whereabouts till date.
The incident was preceded by an altercation with members of the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Mahi-Mandavi hostel, where it was alleged that on the night of October 14, Ahmed slapped ABVP activist Vikrant Kumar, who had come to his room to campaign for the hostel polls. Later, when the students complained of violence being inflicted over Ahmed, the matter took an ugly turn. He was thus, found missing the very next morning from 11 a.m.
An FIR was registered for kidnapping and wrongfully confining a person at the Vasant Kunj (north) police station by Ahmed’s mother who rushed from her hometown Budaun (UP) to Delhi on October 16 after a receiving a worried call by his son on the night of October 14. According to a report by The Hindu, “The administration met with Najeeb’s family only four days after he went missing despite his mother having spent every hour outside the Administration Block requesting help to find her son.”
The Left-controlled JNU student union alleged the University for doing little to trace Ahmed and punish members of ABVP. In protest, around a hundred students tried to block the Nelson Mandela Marg the following week and later, confined the JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagdeesh Kumar and other senior officials in the administrative building for over 20 hours until he termed the blockade as illegal and warned that the “law will take its course” if they are not allowed to go.
According to a report by NDTV, the Home Minister has directed Delhi Police to form a Special Investigative Team to trace the missing student. Meanwhile, fresh sloganeering has started at the administrative block with an increasing number of students who have gathered at the protest sites and will continue to fight until Ahmed is found, safe and sound.
Shagun Marwah
[email protected]
With Inputs from Hindustan Times
Picture Credits: www.hindustantimes.com