Cut across political barriers, get him back: HC to cops

The Delhi high court on Monday sternly asked the city police to “cut across all political barriers” and find missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, saying there could be “something more” to his disappearance as no one can just vanish from the heart of the national Capital.

Expressing concern over the whereabouts of the student who has remained untraced for 45 days now, the court also raised several questions, including why the alleged on-campus scuffle between Najeeb and some members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the injuries sustained by Najeeb was not mentioned in the Delhi Police’s status report.

A Bench of justices G S Sistani and Vinod Goel said if a person disappears from the national Capital and remains untraced, then it would create a “sense of insecurity” in the people here and asked the police to explore all angles. “This is the heart of India, the national Capital. No one can just disappear from here. It creates a sense of insecurity in people. If he disappeared, then there is something more to that. All angles have to be explored. 45 days is a long period for someone to be underground,” it said to the police which is of the view that Najeeb was “not forcefully abducted”.

After perusing the status report of Delhi Police, the court asked why was Najeeb taken to the Safdarjung Hospital in an ambulance if he had no apparent or visible injuries, as this detail was missing from the police report. It also asked why the report does not say anything about the alleged on-campus scuffle between Najeeb and some members allegedly of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).