A Delhi court on Monday granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to close the case of Najeeb Ahmed, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student who went missing under mysterious circumstances in October 2016. The CBI, which had filed a closure report in 2018 after failing to trace Ahmed, was allowed to formally close the case by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Jyoti Maheshwari.
The court accepted the agency’s report but left the door open for future investigation, granting liberty to reopen the case if new evidence surfaces.
Ahmed, an M.Sc. Biotechnology student at JNU, was last seen on October 15, 2016, leaving his hostel premises in an auto-rickshaw, according to the hostel warden. His disappearance followed a scuffle the previous night with students allegedly affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.
The case, which initially began as a Delhi Police investigation, was later handed over to the CBI. In its 2018 closure report, the agency cited a lack of evidence and untraceable leads, stating that all efforts to locate Ahmed had been unsuccessful. The closure report was submitted after securing permission from the Delhi High Court.
However, Ahmed’s mother, Fatima Nafees, opposed the CBI’s decision and challenged the closure report in court. Her legal counsel argued that the case was politically sensitive and accused the CBI of “succumbing to the pressure of its masters.”
Earlier this year, in an affidavit submitted to the court, the CBI revealed that Ahmed had allegedly refused medical treatment at Safdarjung Hospital after the altercation. The agency claimed he did not get a medico-legal certificate (MLC) prepared despite being advised to do so and instead returned to the hostel with a friend. Statements from hospital staff could not be obtained, the agency said, due to lack of documentation proving his visit.
The court’s acceptance of the closure report marks a significant development in the nearly eight-year-old case that has drawn national attention and raised concerns about campus safety, police accountability, and political influence in high-profile investigations.
Ahmed’s disappearance remains one of the most debated unresolved student cases in recent memory, with his family and supporters continuing to demand justice and answers.
