A Delhi court on Monday accepted the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report in the 2016 disappearance case of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who went missing nearly nine years ago under mysterious circumstances.
Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari approved the CBI’s request to shut the case but granted permission to reopen the investigation if new evidence emerges.
Ahmed, a Master’s student in Biotechnology at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was last seen on October 15, 2016, after an alleged altercation with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the university’s Mahi-Mandvi hostel. His sudden disappearance sparked protests, political debate, and nationwide attention.
In 2018, the CBI concluded its probe, stating that all efforts to trace Ahmed had been unsuccessful. The agency subsequently filed a closure report, with the Delhi High Court’s permission.
However, Ahmed’s mother, Fatima Nafees, contested the report, accusing the CBI of bowing to political pressure and calling it a “political case”. Her legal counsel argued that the agency did not conduct a fair or thorough investigation.
While the court has now formally closed the case, the option to reopen it remains if credible leads or fresh information surface in the future.
