Eight years after Najeeb disappeared, family clinging to hope for justice

Having found no clue to his disappearance, probe agencies, including the CBI, shut the case in 2018

Fatima Nafees, now in her mid-50s, once again paid a visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to take part in a protest march on Tuesday (October 15, 2024) and light a candle to seek justice for her son Najeeb, who had disappeared on this day eight years go.

“Till the day I am alive, I will keep coming to JNU and tell people about what happened to my son. I don’t want there to be another Najeeb,” she said.

Najeeb Ahmed, a first-year student of JNU from Uttar Pradesh’s Budaun, had gone missing after a brawl allegedly with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Mahi-Mandavi Hostel in the university.

Having found no clue to his disappearance, probe agencies, including the CBI, shut the case in 2018.

Dissatisfied with the investigation, Ms. Nafees said, “Nothing has come out of the court cases yet. Dates for hearing keep getting pushed. I am still hopeful that someday, a good judge will take over and we will get justice.”

She was referring to hearings in the petition that she had filed against the closure of the case.

She blamed “gundagardi” (hooliganisim) for his son’s disappearance, adding that if he was not a Muslim, this might not have happened to him.

“Najeeb was 27 then. He would have been 35 now… would have been married, and I would not have been be standing here with this pain,” she said breaking down.

Najeeb’s younger brother, Haseeb Ahmed, who travelled from Budaun with his mother for the protest, said, “We still have hope that he is alive, somewhere.”

Meanwhile, a large number of students marched from Ganga Dhaba to Sabarmati Dhaba on the university campus holding placards, which read ‘Justice for Najeeb’, ‘Humaare Najeeb ko Dhoondh ke Lao (find our Najeeb)’, and ‘Stop Attacks on Muslims’.

Four office-bearers of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union referred to Najeeb’s mother as “Ammi” and assured her that they would take her fight forward.

After the protest march, students walked along with her to administration block, where she lit the first candle, following which others lit hundreds of candles to spell out “Where is Najeeb”.

Thanking the students for their support, Ms. Nafees said, “I am grateful to you all for keeping my fight alive. He [Najeeb] came here from a small town and a poor family, with a big dream. He used to say that he was going to study in ‘Hindustan’s Oxford’.”

Published - October 16, 2024 12:45 am IST