Missing JNU pupil's kin get call for Rs 20 lakh ransom

NEW DELHI: More than three months after the mysterious disappearance of

Najeeb

Ahmed, the family of the JNU student received a ransom call seeking Rs 20 lakh for his release, it was revealed on Saturday. Delhi Police traced the call, which was made a few days ago to Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh and arrested a man on Saturday.

The man, who was brought to Delhi the same day and put through sustained interrogation, has been identified as

Shamim

alias Shiv Kumar. He had a criminal record, cops claimed, adding it was unclear if he had abducted Najeeb. During initial questioning, Shamim denied any link with the case, telling the cops that he was merely playing a prank by calling up the student's family .

“Shamim is being interrogated. We are not taking his claims at face value without corroborating it,“ JCP (crime) Ravindra Yadav said.

Earlier, Najeeb's family had received a letter from an Aligarh woman who claimed to have spotted him. A person from Bihar had also claimed to have seen the student. Najeeb, who was suffering from severe depression and was on medication, had a brawl with some ABVP students on October 14.His mother was informed of the fight and reached Delhi the next morning. However, when she came to the university, Najeeb had gone

missing

.He apparently took an autorickshaw for Jamia Nagar and got down at the university in the area.

The cops identified the auto driver using the CCTV foot age of the university. He told them that Najeeb had boarded the vehicle while he was driving out of the JNU campus after dropping a passenger. Najeeb initially asked him to go to Batla House. But when they reached the main gate of the Jamia Millia University, Najeeb asked the driver to stop, got off and entered the campus. He has been traceless since.

The crime branch has scanned the entire JNU campus using dog squads and mounted police. Police have declared a reward of Rs 10 lakh for any information on Najeeb.