A Delhi court on Monday approved the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) request to close the missing person case of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed, who disappeared on October 15, 2016.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari accepted the closure report submitted by the CBI but granted the agency liberty to reopen the case should any new evidence emerge in the future.
The CBI had concluded its investigation in 2018, citing an inability to trace Ahmed despite extensive efforts. The agency later filed its closure report with the court after obtaining approval from the Delhi High Court.
Fatima Nafees, Ahmed’s mother, contested the closure report, arguing through her legal counsel that the case had political dimensions and that the CBI had allegedly acted under external influence.
Ahmed, an M.Sc. Biotechnology student at JNU, was last seen leaving the university’s Mahi-Mandvi hostel on October 15, 2016, following a reported altercation the previous night with students allegedly affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The hostel warden confirmed seeing Ahmed depart the campus in an auto-rickshaw.
Initially investigated by the Delhi Police, the case was later transferred to the CBI. In a recent submission to the court, the agency claimed that Ahmed had declined medical treatment at Safdarjung Hospital after allegedly being assaulted. Statements from hospital personnel could not be recorded due to the absence of documents verifying his visit.
According to the investigating officer, Ahmed was advised to obtain a medico-legal certificate (MLC) during his hospital visit but returned to his hostel with his friend, Md Quasim, without securing the documentation.
Earlier this month, ACJM Maheshwari had stated that a decision would soon be made regarding the acceptance of the police report recommending the closure of the case.
Background of the Case
Najeeb Ahmed had reportedly returned to the JNU campus on October 13, 2016, after a break. On the night of October 15–16, he called his mother, Fatima Nafees, expressing distress and indicating that something was amiss. According to her FIR, Ahmed’s roommate, Kasim, informed her of a physical altercation in which Ahmed was injured.
Fatima traveled from Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, to Delhi the next day to see her son. She spoke to Ahmed on the phone and arranged to meet him at his hostel. However, upon arriving at Room 106 in the Mahi-Mandvi hostel, she discovered he was missing. He has not been seen since.
