‘A mother lost 9-year battle’: Student groups, parties slam missing JNU student case closure

In heartbreaking news for a mother, a Delhi court has accepted the closure report of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the missing student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – Najeeb Ahmed. The investigation agency failed to find the student who disappeared nine years ago after an alleged assault.

Some student organisations and Najeeb’s own mother, Fatima Nafis, have accused the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members for their involvement in the disappearance of the JNU student and condemned the CBI as well as Delhi Police for their inability to take any action.

The first-year master's student went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of JNU on October 15, 2016, after an alleged scuffle with some ABVP students the previous night. The case was initially probed by Delhi Police and later transferred to the CBI.

Najeeb Ahmed's mother to approach Supreme Court

Fatima has vowed to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court while thanking the student community for joining her in the movement. “It's been more than 9 years since my Najeeb went missing. But the negligence with which Delhi Police and CBI worked since day one, has led to today’s outcome where the court has accepted the CBI's closure report. Neither Delhi Police nor CBI, could arrest or take any action against those ABVP-affiliated students, who assaulted my son and made him disappear," she charged in a Facebook post.

Accusing the probe agencies of negligence, she said, "Through the years rumors and lies were spread about my son, although removed from all digital platforms and social media platforms after the Delhi High Court order. But the truth is — such big investigation agencies and the whole judiciary system could not tell where my Najeeb is."

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She praised the students who protested the case closure with her for their support. "This whole time, when the system tried to silence us, JNU students and others all over the country accompanied me from different colleges and universities such as AMU, JAMIA. Those kids faced police batons on the streets, raised voices for us - this solidarity and fight encourages me."

"Sometimes it feels like how to give up hope? How can I let this morale break? After all, he is my son. I want my son. If I had to go to every court in the country for this - I would. I will fight till my last breath. I hope more people will join me in the coming days. This fight is not just for my son, but for every mother who wants justice for her child. If I have to go to the Supreme Court of the country for this, I will go there too," the mother said.

Student groups slam CBI, police

Student groups and political parties including Students Islamic Organisation (SIO), Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) expressed ‘anguish’ and disappointment over the law system’s failure to bring the student back.

“This acceptance not only legitimizes a failed and compromised investigation but also highlights the moral collapse of India’s premier investigative agency. By ending the probe without any answers, the CBI has chosen complicity over justice, silence over truth, and impunity over accountability. It raises a haunting question – who is being protected, and why is the state afraid of the truth?,” said SIO in a statement.

“Najeeb’s disappearance is not an isolated incident; it reflects the grim reality of how dissenting voices, especially from marginalized backgrounds, are met with violence, abandonment, and the denial of justice,” the student body added while pointing out other students’ cases. SIO vowed to continue for Najeeb Ahmad and for all those who have been, according to the organisation, denied justice.

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SDPI feels that the court’s acceptance of the CBI's closure report in the case is a decision that further intensifies the nine years of pain for a mother, a step that turns away from the truth and obstructs justice.

The CBI concluded its probe into the case in October 2018 as its efforts to trace Ahmed did not yield any result. The agency filed its closure report after getting permission from the Delhi High Court. While it accepted the CBI's closure report, the court granted liberty to the agency to reopen the investigation on the receipt of any credible information on Ahmed's whereabouts and intimate the court accordingly.