JNU missing student: Protest intensifies, VC & other senior officials locked in building

Hours after the brawl between Najeeb Ahmed and ABVP students late on Friday last week, an emergency meeting held by the warden at 12:30 AM pronounced Ahmed guilty and expelled him from the hostel “with immediate effect.” This was revealed in notings of the meeting accessed by DNA that was held between the warden and students immediately after the brawl.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for anyone who can provide information with regard to the kidnapping case of Najeeb Ahmed. Posters have been put up at various locations in the Capital to this effect. The students also gheraoed the campus late Wednesday night locking senior university officials inside the administration building, even as JNUSU claimed that it had not done so.

"We have been locked inside the building since 2.30 PM. There is a female colleague with us who is unwell as she is diabetic," JNU Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar said on Wednesday night. The VC and other senior officials are locked for more than eight hours as the students are lying down outside the administration block saying the officials were free to walk over them. The JNU students union defended its stand claiming there has been no "illegal detention".

"We have not illegally confined anybody in JNU administrative building. Electricity and all kind of supplies are here. We have also sent food for people inside," Mohit Pandey, President, JNUSU said.

27-year-old Najeeb Ahmed went missing from the campus the same morning, and has been untraceable ever since. Explaining the decision to expel the student in the middle of the night, the warden of the Mahi Mandavi hostel in JNU, Dr Sushil Kumar said. “Ahmed accepted that he was guilty and that he incited physical violence in front of everybody. In cases where physical violence is involved, it is a requirement to make a noting and take action, so that other students don't feel the administration is not concerned about their safety. Inciting physical violence also requires that hostel provision be withdrawn. That is why the decision was taken.”

The warden, however, also claimed that Ahmed was unaware of the decision of the warden's committee, and that official communication would have only gone to the student Monday. “He was not informed about the decision. An emergency meeting held on 16th October then decided to defer the decision, in the light of the incident, until further notice,” Dr Sushil Kumar added.

As per the notings, Ahmed slapped ABVP student Vikrant Kumar “without any provocation” in front of two students. This action, the noting states, was accepted by Najeeb, “in front of the senior warden, mess warden, JNUSU President, among others.”

“On the basis of the written complaint given by Shri Vikrant Kumar( Room 213 Mahi) and eyewitness accounts and the acceptance of guilt by Shri Najeeb Ahmed (Room no 106 Mahi), Mr Ahmed stands accused of physical violence against Shri Vikrant Kumar. Accordingly, the warden's committee in the presence of  JNUSU President Shri Mohit Pandey, hostel president Shri Alimuddin, former President Shri Dileep Kumar has taken the impromptu decision to expel Najeeb Ahmed from Mahi Mandavi hostel with immediate effect,” the noting of the meeting, written by the warden and signed by witnesses states

“Official communication for vacating the hostel premises will be provided to Shri Ahmed in due course will be provided to Shri Ahmed in due course. Shri Ahmed is required to vacate the hostel on or before October 21, 2016,” it adds.

While the student still remains untraceable, Wednesday again saw various student bodies protesting inside the campus demanding that the administration find the missing student as quickly as possible. The student went missing last Saturday. A case of kidnapping was registered at the Vasant Kunj police station two days after the student went missing. The student's family has been on campus since Saturday.

With PTI inputs