By Shuriah Niazi
NEW DELHI (AA) - A mother in India is waiting for her son’s return almost five years after his disappearance as the world prepares on Monday to mark International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
Najeeb Ahmed disappeared from the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the national capital of New Delhi on Oct. 15, 2016, after a scuffle with students of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student wing of ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The case has been investigated by top investigation agencies but Najeeb’s family believes authorities are in cahoots with those responsible for Ahmed’s disappearance.
Fatima Nafees, Ahmed’s mother, said she has not given up hope to see her son again.
"I still believe that he is alive and has been put in some jail. One day he will definitely come back,” she told Anadolu Agency.
"I am sure that I will get justice," she said.
Nothing is known about the disappearance of the first-year biotechnology master's student.
Nafees is angry with the government because even after almost five years, her son has not been found.
“His disappearance was part of a conspiracy by the government, so not much can be expected from them. My child has been used as a pawn by others," she said.
Ahmed enrolled Aug. 1 and disappeared Oct. 15. He was the eldest of three brothers and one sister.
Hailing from a poor family, he had been enrolled in Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University, Delhi, but transferred to JNU after convincing his mother to let him go to JNU.
“First, the case of Kanhaiya Kumar and then Najeeb. These two incidents created fear among people the government sees as its distractor,” said Nafees. “But I would like to say that one should not be afraid. Everyone is entitled to study at JNU and these people (referring to those in power) are afraid of us. They don’t want us to go there (JNU), that's why they do such things.”
Kumar, who at the time was president of the JNU Students Union, was arrested by New Delhi police in February 2016 on sedition charges at an event on the JNU campus.
“It is surprising and shocking that top government agencies have investigated Najeeb's case but no one has been able to find him out. All of them are clueless,” said Nafees. “First, Delhi police investigated his case, then the Crime Branch of the police and finally Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI, which is the country’s premier investigation agency.”
In Ahmed’s case, a First Information Report was registered Oct. 15 by police.
Nine people were named as suspects in the report and it was believed they could be involved in Ahmed’s disappearance.
There was not much progress in the case and Nafees, who was not happy with the pace of the investigation, went to the Delhi High Court on Nov. 25, 2016.
On May 16, 2017, the High Court handed the case to the country's top agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In December 2017, Najeeb's mother again alleged that the CBI was not interrogating suspects the way it should.
The CBI said May 11, 2018, it did not find evidence to show that a crime had been committed against Najeeb.
In October of that year, the CBI filed a closure report with the High Court.
Nafees said that from the beginning, the police and investigating agencies tried to weaken the case and shield suspects. “They did not act with alacrity to recover Najeeb. But I would not let these people succeed in their design,” said Nafees.
She said her fight will continue until her son comes back and is reunited with her.
Najeeb's younger brother, Haseeb, said the family is ready for a new legal battle with new lawyer Rebecca Jan.