Twelfth Night: Where Is Najeeb?

NEW DELHI: Najeeb Ahmad, a MSc Biotechnology student at Jawaharlal Nehru University, has been missing now for twelve days, with students and teachers rallying behind the student’s family. Najeeb went missing almost two weeks ago following an altercation with ABVP members at his hostel on campus, during which he was reportedly brutally thrashed.

The protesting students and faculty have criticised the administration for failing to take adequate action against the attackers, especially as the administration has filed no complaint whatsoever regarding the incident and the student’s subsequent disappearance. Najeeb’s family has filed an FIR with the Vasant Kunj Police Station, with the JNU Students Union filing a subsequent complaint. The ABVP has filed their own complaint against Najeeb, alleging that the attacked one of the group’s members without provocation.

A group of teachers from JNU have issued a statement saying that they “condemn the JNU administration's callous handling of the matter to date, starting from the fact that the initial action (now available in the public domain) recommended by the Mahi-Mandavi wardens on 15 October only acted upon the complaint against Najeeb, and did not even record the fact that Najeeb had been subjected to a severe beating by persons who were not involved in the initial altercation, in the presence of several independent eyewitnesses including the wardens. A summary punishment was meted out to Najeeb in an atmosphere that was hardly conducive to any free and fair enquiry. It is against this authoritarian and cavalier approach to matters that require responsible handling that JNU teachers have repeatedly warned the university since February this year. Once again, this unlawful conduct of affairs in the university has resulted in a tragic consequence that has put another young life at risk.”