Najeeb missing case: Will challenge CBI closure report in HC, says mother

Opposition leaders, former teachers, and student groups on Wednesday (August 20) joined the family of Najeeb Ahmed, who disappeared from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus nine years ago, in their resolve to continue the fight for justice.

A Delhi court recently accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report in the case.

At a public meeting, Najeeb’s mother, Fatima Nafees, said she would challenge the decision in the High Court.

Mother’s emotional address

“Student power has always stood with me. JNU has stood by me from the beginning and continues to do so. My children in Jamia who supported me, many have been put behind bars. We will continue to fight for them as well. Till the time I have strength, I will continue to fight for my Najeeb. But I have not been keeping well. Even if I’m bedridden, you – my children, my soldiers – have to keep this fight going. This era is not meant for us; it is meant to erase us… But I believe our justice will win, our truth will win, and we will succeed. I will challenge the closure report in the High Court and continue to fight this fight,” Nafees said in an emotional address.

Also read: 'CBI can't be faulted': Delhi court closes JNU student Najeeb Ahmed missing case

The public meeting titled ‘Where is Our Najeeb?’ was organised by the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) at the Constitution Club of India.

Among those who spoke were Rajya Sabha MPs V Sivadasan from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Manoj Jha from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). In his address, Sivadasan said the question of “where is Najeeb?” was actually a question of “where is justice?”.

He linked Najeeb’s disappearance to a larger pattern of targeting minorities and democratic voices in the country. “Manoj Jha and I have just come from Parliament. Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three draconian Bills. They give special power to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Instruments like CBI, ED and IT, everything is under the Prime Minister, though they put the name of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers. But everybody knows, the agencies, CBI or ED or IT, these agencies are under the Prime Minister. Though these agencies can’t arrest Prime Minister, but they will utilise this entire agency against the Chief Ministers and the Ministers who are standing against the existing Union Ministry,” he said.

Sivadasan accuses govt of targeting minorities

“The lawmakers, this Cabinet and the Prime Minister, they are targeting the minorities and the democratic forces in our nation… Najeeb is not just a name; Najeeb is a fighting force of justice,” Sivadasan said, adding that the fight for justice would be fought both inside and outside Parliament.

Also read: 'Matter dies when I die,' says Najeeb Ahmed's mother

Jha echoed Sivadasan in saying that “the right question is not where is Najeeb?, but where is justice?”.

“Many of you are trying to find your classmate. Fatima ji is trying to find her son. But this country is in search of its soul… The Home Minister’s duty is to keep citizens safe, but his presence is telling people that they are unwanted; that they should leave the country,” he said.

Jha said today’s India was not the country of Gandhi and Nehru, and that many innocent people were rotting in jail. “Today, your name itself can become a guarantee for your arrest, and if people like us point that out in Parliament, we are told to go to Pakistan, among other things,” he remarked.

He told Najeeb’s family and friends to have courage. “We are not very strong, but small powers have forced many countries to change. In our country too, those who feel they can do anything and there will be no protests, maybe roads will show the way to the Parliament, and then we will get Najeeb back too,” he said.

Drawing parallels to cases in Palestine, Syria

JNUSU President Nitish Kumar recalled that Najeeb was assaulted on campus a day before he went missing, allegedly by members of the ABVP, and accused the Delhi Police of attempting to “dismantle the case” from the beginning. He said the Union would keep fighting for justice.

JNU Teachers’ Association President Surajit Mazumdar questioned the role of the JNU administration, arguing that their indifference contributed to the tragedy and apologised to Fatima for the institutional apathy. “They may not have been directly responsible, but their attitude towards the incident was deeply flawed. To date, the JNU administration has not even apologised to Najeeb’s mother, Fatima ji, at least now in a heartfelt manner,” he said.

While courts have pointed to a lack of evidence, Mazumdar emphasised that the unresolved case must be seen in the wider context of institutional bias, government pressure, and the shrinking space for dissent. “The court can accept it as closure, but the JNU community will not,” he said.

Civil rights activist Nadeem Khan drew parallels with cases of forced disappearances in conflict zones. “In Palestine or Syria, people have been missing for decades and later found. We are certain Najeeb will return to us one day. But the judiciary has made a mockery of the case – from deploying a dog squad months after his disappearance to ignoring glaring lapses,” he said, vowing to continue the battle both on the streets and legally.

N Sai Balaji, former JNUSU President and a member of the CPI(ML) Liberation, and Ahamed Saju of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) – also expressed solidarity with Nafees and vowed to fight for justice.