Missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad became the centre of courtroom drama on Monday, as the nine accused ABVP activists expressed annoyance on the investigation procedure. The accused have not agreed to undergo the lie-detector test, even a month after the court’s stern order.
Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the ABVP accused stated that the court cannot push an individual to undertake the lie detector test. The court also reacted to claims of Najeeb’s roommate Qasim undergoing the test, stating he is willing to take the test provided the other accused also turn up.
Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees’s lawyer Colin Gonsalves dismissed the “ransom call” theory by the Delhi Police, citing it as an attempted diversion from the main investigation. He strongly refuted theories of Najeeb being mentally ill. He also expressed apprehension that this statement could make police believe that he wandered off on his own.
Gonsalves and Delhi Police lawyer Rahul Mehra questioned why the two non-residents and former students Abhijeet and Arnab Chakrabarty were residing and contesting the Mahi-Mandvi hostel elections. The court also accepted Gonsalves’s claim of searching the accused illegal resident’s local addresses immediately with sniffer dogs.
Over ninety days have passed since Najeeb disappeared, yet the investigations have been marked by abruptness and zero concreteness.
The accused ABVP activists had refused to undergo lie-detector a month back. Defending the case, Saurabh Sharma, Ex-JNUSU Joint Secretary, and ABVP activist stated they were not in town and had gone to their homes for vacations and shall turn up for the investigations once they return. But what is the scene now?
Speaking to inUth, Ex-JNUSU President Akbar Choudhury pointed to the contradictory scenario. “If the ABVP people are innocent, why are they scared of joining the investigation? If prime suspects are not cooperating with the investigation, how will the probe proceed?” asked the ex-president.
Monday saw Gonsalves fighting up with a top-notch corporate lawyer representing the “common students”. Ever since the Biotechnology student went missing, ABVP’s claim of “complete cooperation” has been put to question time and again. Their actions not only invite suspicion but also bring out severe contradictions.
Ninety days and multiple blame games, “revelations” and investigations later, there is no conclusive evidence. Will justice ever be served and will Najeeb be found, remains to be seen.
