Eight months have passed since the 28-year-old Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed went missing under mysterious circumstances after he was allegedly involved in a heated scuffle with members of the right wing student group, the Delhi Police has shelled out close to Rs 15 lakh to find the student.
Najeeb’s case was transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after his mother petitioned the Delhi High court. Najeeb is yet to be traced.
Talking to the Pioneer, a senior officer, privy to the investigation said, “We have spent at least Rs 15 lakh cash on finding the JNU student. Teams were formed and sent across to different States. In our last effort, we had assigned the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Crime Branch to look into the case.”
The disappearance of Najeeb, the MSc Biotechnology first year student of JNU, had led to widespread protests by the students of the varsity and the family members of Najeeb.
On the night of October 15, Najeeb was allegedly beaten up by the students of the ABVP after which Najeeb took an auto to Jamia Millia Islamia, alleged police. As per the statements of the auto driver who dropped him at the gate of the Jamia , Najeeb had gone inside. Family of Najeeb who had constantly been appealing in the courts asked the case to be transferred to the CBI.
An FIR was registered with the Vasant Kunj North police station on October 15, 2016. The case was handed over to the Crime Branch on November 12, 2016. The Crime Branch sleuths carried out massive search operations inside the premises of the JNU with the assistance of horses and hundreds of women and men personnel yet in vain. They scoured length and breadth of many States but could not find him.
Search operations were carried out in States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and bordering areas of Indo-Nepal. Massive search was carried out at the native town of Najeeb. Police had then claimed that Najeeb was alleged to be under depression and is said to be under course of medication.
The Delhi Police had increased the amount of reward money to Rs 2 lakh for any clue regarding Najeeb while its teams were searching for Najeeb. After the Delhi Police announced the reward money, the investigating agency got several hoax calls from people claiming to know about the whereabouts of Najeeb Ahmad. In the month of January, a man had allegedly made a ransom call of Rs 20 lakh to the kin of Najeeb, following which the Delhi Police crime branch had traced the caller to Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh and had arrested him.