NEW DELHI: It has been 17 days since
Najeeb Ahmed, a first year biotechnology student, went missing from
Jawaharlal Nehru University after an alleged run-in with members of ABVP. Ahmed’s family met
chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, with the continuous protests of the
JNU Students Union evoking little reaction from the institution’s administration. On Diwali night, a ‘Ray of Hope’ vigil was organised as part of the student agitation.
While JNUSU sent a delegation to meet the university proctor on Monday and demanded that the report of the internal inquiry be made public, Ahmed’s mother and other relatives told Kejriwal about their anxieties at his residence. The family discussed with the CM the slow progress in both locating the student as well as the steps taken by the authorities following Ahmed’s disappearance.
Kejriwal assured the family that Ahmed would be found. “I am with you and will do whatever is required to trace him. It’s a very serious matter and the government will not let you down. We will use all our resources to help you,” said the CM.
Back on the JNU campus, posters of the
missing student
can be seen everywhere. It can be sighted also at the Hauz Khas Metro Station, where police hope the reward of Rs 1 lakh will help it get some information about Ahmed.
ABVP, for its part, is accusing JNUSU of politicising the issue. The student organisation’s Saurabh Sharma wondered why Kejriwal’s assurance to Ahmed’s family had come a bit late. “It is interesting to note that the same CM had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the February 9 incident without wasting time,” he said, alluding to the days of political ferment over alleged anti-patriotic slogan shouting on the campus.
Sharma also said that Ahmed’s kin meeting Kejriwal instead of the cops hinted at their goal of politicising the disappearance.
On Diwali night, JNUSU members started a vigil called ‘Light a Ray of Hope’ that saw Ahmed’s mother and sister joining in. Torches in hand, around 300 students congregated, expressed solidarity with the missing student’s family and rued the lack of intent in the search for Ahmed by the cops.