The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Thursday indicated to the Delhi High Court that it may close the investigation into the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmad, as it could not find any clue in the matter. A bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel was further told by the agency that it could not get any clue from the mobile phones of the suspects. “We have no trail as of today. The investigation reports are negative. We are not able to trace Najeeb Ahmad till date,” said CBI counsel Nikhil Goel.
He also submitted that some mobile phones could not be analysed as they were protected by pattern locks. “The other two mobile phones are not in working order and, therefore, could not be analysed… We thought of filing a closure report in the matter, but we’re making another attempt to analyse other aspects,” said Goel. He stated that no information has yet been received on the whereabouts of Najeeb from any part of the country.
“Even the help of Interpol has been sought for issuance of Yellow Notice. A reward of Rs 10,00,000 has been announced to the general public for providing clues about the missing person,” he added.
The CBI also told the court that till date, its probe has not found any evidence to show any crime was committed, nor did it find any material to arrest or take coercive action against nine students who are suspected by Najeeb’s family of being behind his disappearance. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees, submitted that the CBI has not questioned around 18 persons, including the hostel warden and security guards.
He said those who had threatened Najeeb a day before he disappeared have not been taken into custody yet, and sought a court-monitored probe. The court directed the CBI to file a compilation of all statements recorded in the case by September 4, the next date of hearing. The court, however, noted that it had been hearing this petition filed by Najeeb’s mother since October 2016, following his disappearance, saying, “Her anxiety is understandable.”
Najeeb had gone missing from JNU’s Mahi Mandvi hostel on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle with students allegedly affiliated to the ABVP the previous night. His mother had moved the HC seeking directions to police to trace her son. However, as the Delhi Police remained clueless about his whereabouts even seven months after he went missing, the court handed over the probe to the CBI on May 16 last year.
