HC slams CBI for ‘complete lack of interest’ in tracing Najeeb Ahmed

The Delhi High Court on Monday slammed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for its “complete lack of interest” in tracing out JNU student Najeeb Ahmad, who went missing a year ago.

A bench headed by Justice G.S. Sistani, ticking off the central probe agency, said, "There was complete lack of interest" in pursuing the case.

The court also expressed reservations at the CBI for making "contradictory statements" in front of the court - against what was submitted in the status report of the case in a sealed cover.

While the CBI said call details records (CDR) of the accused persons in the case have been analysed, the court noted that it is not mentioned in the status report.

The court said the CBI should reveal what it has found in its investigations so far. Not happy with the lack of details in the status report, the bench said the DIG was not properly supervising the investigation.

"If this is the supervision of the DIG, what will happen when there is no supervision...? We direct the concerned DIG to ensure that status report is filed under his signature or at least he should read them," the court observed.

The bench also wondered why a local court had given a date in 2018 on the CBI's plea for recording consent of the accused persons for a polygraph test in connection with the disappearance of Ahmed, who is missing since October 15 last year.

The bench directed the concerned trial court to ensure that long dates are not given in such applications.

"We are surprised that the application filed for conduct of polygraph test was listed before the court of CMM (chief metropolitan magistrate) for recording consent of nine persons. CMM has adjourned the CBI's application for January 24, 2018... No reason has been given why the court has given such a long date, as the objective of polygraph test will get defeated by giving such as long date," the court remarked.

The court was of the view that not only the accused persons (ABVP students) but "the family of the complainant should undergo polygraph test".

The court said: "We want to know what exactly happened."

On May 16, the High Court had asked the CBI to probe the case of Ahmed, who went missing after an alleged altercation with some Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members in the JNU hostel.

The court has been hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by Fatima Nafees, Najeeb Ahmed's mother, that her son be produced by police and the Delhi government before the court.

The ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Najeeb, 27, an M.Sc first year student.