'CBI Can't Be Faulted': Delhi Court Accepts Closure Report In JNU Student Najeeb Ahmed Missing Case
While it accepted CBI's closure report, the court granted it liberty to re-open the investigation on the receipt of any credible information on Ahmed's whereabouts and intimate the court accordingly.
New Delhi, Jun 30 (PTI) A Delhi court on Monday allowed the CBI to close the case of first year JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who went missing on October 15, 2016, saying the agency "exhausted all options".
Additional chief judicial magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari also "earnestly hoped" Najeeb was traced soon.
"This court expresses its regret that while the proceedings in the present case end with this closure report, a closure for Najeeb’s mother and other loved ones, still eludes us," the order said.
While it accepted the agency's closure report, the court granted liberty to the CBI to re-open the investigation on the receipt of any credible information on Ahmed's whereabouts and intimate the court accordingly.
The judge said there was no evidence of any scuffle or exchange of Najeeb with any person on the day of his disappearance once he returned to the hostel to show his disappearance was caused by any suspect or any other person at JNU.
"An analysis of the discussion shows that CBI has undertaken a holistic investigation and exhausted all options," the court said.
She also noted that when Najeeb left the hostel room, his cell phone and laptop were lying in the room only.
"It is evident that all conceivable aspects which could have been investigated upon, have been thoroughly covered by CBI, but no credible information could be received regarding the whereabouts of Najeeb Ahmed. An analysis of the above discussion shows that CBI has undertaken a holistic investigation and exhausted all options," the court said.
Further, the grounds raised by the protest petitioner by Ahmed's mother, in alleging lapses in the investigation by CBI, was examined at length and stood rejected, the judge added.
The order continued, "This court is cognisant of the plight of an anxious mother, who has been on a quest to find out about her missing son since 2016, but the investigating agency in the present case, i.e., CBI cannot be faulted for the investigation carried out. The quest for truth is the foundation of every criminal investigation, yet there are cases where the investigation conducted cannot achieve its logical conclusion, despite the best efforts of the investigating machinery." The CBI in October 2018 closed its investigation into the case as the agency's efforts to trace Ahmed, a first year master's student at JNU, yielded no results.
The agency filed its closure report before the court in the case after getting permission from the Delhi High Court.
Ahmed went missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of JNU on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle with some students allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad the previous night.
Nafees' counsel had previously said it was a "political case" in which the "CBI has succumbed to the pressure of its masters".
The case was initially probed by Delhi Police but later transferred to the CBI.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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