The mother of missing Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed has announced her decision to approach the Supreme Court to seek justice and find her son, who has been missing for nine years. Najeeb disappeared following an alleged fight with activists of the RSS-backed student group ABVP on the university campus.
Fatima Nafis, from Badaun, made this statement a day after a Delhi court accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report on the case, which has been under investigation since 2016.
“Till date, neither Delhi Police nor the CBI has been able to arrest or take any action against the ABVP goons who beat up my son and then made him disappear,” Fatima said.
She added that despite rumors and false information about her son being removed from social and digital media platforms by order of the Delhi High Court, the truth remains that neither the investigating agencies nor the judicial system has been able to trace Najeeb till now.
In 2018, the Delhi High Court ordered several media outlets and YouTube channels to take down unverified reports claiming that Najeeb had joined the Islamic State.
Fatima expressed gratitude for the support she received from students across India, including those from AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia, who protested and raised their voices for Najeeb. She said, “This support and this fight give me courage.”
In 2017, police used force twice to disperse students protesting Najeeb’s disappearance. At that time, JNU’s then Vice-Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar was surrounded by students for six days after ABVP members found guilty of assaulting Najeeb were only punished with hostel transfers.
Fatima said, “How can I give up hope? How can I let my courage break? After all, he is my son. I want my son. If I have to go to every court in the country, I will go. I will fight till my last breath.”
She also called for others to join her fight, saying, “This fight is not just for my son, but for every mother who wants justice for her child.”
The JNU Students’ Union condemned the court’s decision to accept the closure report, calling it “justice denied.” They protested by burning an effigy of the Delhi Police, accusing the authorities of shielding ABVP-affiliated students and demanding that the investigation be reopened with full transparency and free from political influence.
