Home India Najeeb Ahmed missing case: Have decided to file closure report in JNU student's case, CBI tells Delhi HC

Najeeb Ahmed missing case: Have decided to file closure report in JNU student’s case, CBI tells Delhi HC

Colin Gonsalves, the counsel of Ahmed's mother, opposed the CBI's submission and said that the CBI is protecting the accused, allegedly belonging from ABVP, by not interrogating them.

Ahmad’s mother at a protest march in Jantar Mantar. (Express Photo: Prem Nath Pandey)

The CBI on Tuesday told the Delhi High Court that it has decided to file a closure report in the case of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed. The agency stated that it has probed all the angles left by the Delhi Police, which was investigating the case earlier, and that its investigation in the case was complete.

The central agency told the bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel that it wanted to intimate the court about this decision before filing closure in the case. “We have taken a decision to file a report under section 169 (release of accused when evidence is deficient) of the CrPC. We have completed the investigation. We did not want to file closure report before the trial court without bringing it to the knowledge of this court. The court may dispose of the petition today after which we will file the closure report before the magistrate and the petitioner may file a protest petition there, if they wish to,” CBI’s counsel Nikhil Goel was quoted by PTI as saying.

Colin Gonsalves, the counsel of Ahmed’s mother, opposed the CBI’s submission and said that the CBI is protecting the accused, allegedly belonging from ABVP, by not interrogating them. “The CBI has succumbed to the pressure of its masters. It has failed to conduct the investigation in a fair and true manner. Why CBI was not doing custodial interrogation of the accused?” PTI quoted him as saying.

Here’s a look at the timeline of events of the case

October 15, 2016: Najeeb Ahmed (27), a first-year M.Sc. student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University School of Biotechnology, mysteriously goes missing on October 15, 2016, a day after he had an alleged scuffle with some students from ABVP. Najeeb’s family and friends allege the role of ABVP activists behind Najeeb’s disappearance but the organisation denies any role in the matter.

Students carrying posters demanding a probe for finding Najeeb. (File)

The Delhi Police registers an FIR under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person). An award of Rs 50,000 is announced for any information relating to Najeeb and his disappearance. Nine people are identified as suspects in the case.

November 25, 2016: Najeeb’s mother moves the Delhi High Court, seeking directions to the police to trace her son. Moreover, Najeeb’s family allege that the police was showing laxity in investigating the suspects, allegedly from ABVP. Massive protests erupt outside the V-C office in JNU. JNUSU and JNUTA blame the V-C for not acting decisively in the matter.

May 16, 2017: The Delhi High Court passes the case to CBI after Delhi Police fails to find any clue about Najeeb.

Police detain students, including Police detain students, including Umar Khalid (top left) demanding action to trace Najeeb Ahmad. (Source: Prem Nath Pandey)

October 16, 2017: The high court pulls up the CBI for showing laxity in tracing Najeeb Ahmed. The court says the central agency is not showing the intent to find the missing student.

December 2017: Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees alleges that the CBI is not probing into the alleged role of the police in influencing the witnesses. She says the CBI is not probing the nine alleged suspects in the case as they should be.

February 2017: The Delhi High Court directs a forensic laboratory in Chandigarh to examine the mobile phones of nine accused students. The court expresses concern over the delay in the forensic analysis of the seized phones and asks the laboratory to give its report by March 19.

May 11, 2018: CBI tells court that it has not found any evidence that there was any crime committed against Najeeb. CBI presents the argument based on the findings by the forensic agency which searched the mobile phones of the nine suspects in the case. The central agency says that they did not find anything closely related to the matter.

September 4, 2018: CBI tells the Delhi High Court that it has decided to file a closure report in the Najeeb case. The agency states that it has probed all the angles and there is nothing left to investigate further.

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