A first-year student of M.Sc. Biotechnology, JNU, Najeeb Ahmed has been missing from JNU campus since 15th of October, 2016. He was found missing after being brutally beaten and threatened by some members of the ABVP. As the JNUSU raised the issue of the disappearance with university authorities and the Delhi Police, the JNU administration in complete abdication of its responsibility not only refused to file a complaint with the police regarding Najeeb’s disappearance, the university also did not think it necessary to issue a sensitive appeal to Najeeb assuring him of safety and an unbiased hearing. The JNU student community led by JNUSU marched to the police station on 18 October to file a complaint. On 21 October, a protest was called outside the home ministry to build pressure on the home ministry to intensify search operations for finding Najeeb. On 21 October as the students tried to reach the site of protest, several of them were detained by the police at the Parliament Street police station. Several others were dragged and pulled down from the bus and brutally beaten. After much pressure from the students, the home ministry officials conveyed to the students that an SIT had been formed to search for Najeeb. On 23 October, the JNUSU organised a human chain march in which several hundreds of students, teachers and concerned citizens participated. The human chain march culminated in a meeting outside the JNU VC’s house which was also addressed by Najeeb’s sister. Continuing to build the pressure, the JNUSU also called for JNU students, students from other institutions and social activists to join a march from Mandi House to Jantar Mantar on 24 October. A public meeting was also organised at Jantar Mantar where many student activists of various organisations and other leaders spoke demanding Justice for Najeeb. The JNUSU in its appeal to the citizens said that it is indeed shocking that a –“student is subjected to violence and threats in a university space, is found missing and the institutional authorities respond by doing NOTHING to bring the perpetrators of violence against him to book and feel NO need whatsoever to reach out to the missing student with sensitivity and assurance. Such shocking abdication of institutional responsibilities cannot be allowed to become a norm! Today, as a society, we must come together to demand institutional accountability!! We must come together and say it loud and clear that- persecution, disappearance, humiliation or any kind of discrimination against any student in any campus will not be tolerated!”
In solidarity with the struggle for finding and demanding justice for Najeeb, AISA observed a Nation-Wide Protest on 24 October in Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Patna, Hyderabad, and Kolkata. Solidarity protests were also called by unions at MANUU and UoH.
