Tension simmers in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) again after political organisations try to give a communal colour to the issues of a student missing from the campus. Najeeb Ahmed, a student of School of Biotechnology at JNU, allegedly went missing on Saturday following an altercation on the campus on Friday night.
While an FIR was registered at the Vasant Kunj (north) police station by the family members on Sunday, Ahmed's mother Fatima Nafees arrived in Delhi from her hometown Budaun (UP).
A case under Section 365 (kidnapping with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person) of IPC has been registered on the basis of a complaint by his parents, police said.
“Mere saath kuch haadsa hogaya (something bad has happened to me),” Ahmed told his mother on phone after which she promised to reach Delhi in the morning. While talking to The Pioneer, Nafees said, “I called him again at 11:00 am from the bus stop saying that I am reaching his hostel. When I reached JNU, he was missing.”
Since then, Nafees has been camping outside the JNU administration block along with her relatives who are the local guardians of Ahmed. The family complained that the administration has neither informed them nor taken any step to provide any assistance to the mother so far. “Neither the administration nor the hostel warden informed any of us about the incident,” said Ahmed's local guardian Sadaf.
Turning the matter topsy-turvy, the JNU administration in a statement called Ahmed as the “accused student” without defining the incident. In a Press statement, the JNU administration has claimed that it “acted promptly” after receiving the complaint. “Wardens of the hostel met and discussed all the issues related to the incident with the students, including the hostel president, the JNUSU president and the room-mate of the “accused”. The matter was resolved that night and decision was taken on disciplinary measures,” stated the release.
Meanwhile, the JNU Student's Union (JNUSU) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) are blaming each other for turning the matter “communal”.
Ahmed was allegedly “severely beaten up” by the ABVP activists in JNU's Mahi Mandavi hostel. The ABVP refuted the allegations calling for immediate action of the police and administration.
“The three students who are affiliated with the ABVP were in Ahmed's room when we heard the scuffle….as we reached Ahmed was bleeding and we tried to shield him but the ABVP activists called more supporters and attacked him four times in the night. He was traumatised,” a resident of the hostel, who witnessed the incident, told The Pioneer. “In the morning, he was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment,” he added.
“Ahmed was in his room when his roommate Qasim went out lunch. When Qasim returned, he found Ahmed missing,” he further said.
However, Qasim refused to speak to the media.
“There are serious efforts to communalise the issue and concerted efforts to communally polarise the campus. On the table of the common room, “Muslims are Terrorists” and deeply offensive statements were written in the hostel. It is shocking to see the apathy of the administration, which has not taken any concrete steps despite Najeeb Ahmed missing from the campus for more than three days now,” said JNUSU president Mohit Pandey.
Refuting the allegations, ABVP activist and former JNUSU joint secretary, Saurabh Sharma said that the three students, including Vikrant and Ankit, had gone in the room to campaign for the hostel committee elections.
“Ahmed questioned Vikrant about the red thread on his wrist. Vikrant told him it is for my protection and he got slapped by Ahmed. The issue went to the warden who said that the involved students would be rusticated,” said Sharma, alleging that AISA is trying to communalise the matter.
Insiders in JNU said that due to lack of CCTV cameras at many points, it could cause a hindrance in tracing Ahmed. The administration said that it was in touch with the police who visited the campus for investigation.