Court allows CBI to close case of missing JNU student

A Delhi court on Monday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to formally close its investigation into the disappearance of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmed, nearly nine years after he went missing under mysterious circumstances. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jyoti Maheshwari accepted the CBI’s closure report but left the door open for future investigation, stating that the case may be reopened if any new evidence emerges.

Ahmed’s disappearance remains one of the most high-profile unresolved cases in Delhi, highlighting concerns over campus safety and even political interference in academic spaces. Ahmed, a first-year MSc student, went missing on October 15, 2016, a day after a scuffle with a group of students — allegedly affiliated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — at JNU’s Mahi-Mandvi hostel.

The case, which drew national attention and sparked protests across campuses, was initially probed by Delhi Police before being handed over to the CBI following a public outcry and sustained legal efforts by Ahmed’s mother, Fatima Nafees. Despite nationwide searches, forensic analyses and questioning of suspects, the CBI was unable to trace Ahmed or determine what happened to him. In 2018, it filed a closure report, stating that all possible leads had been exhausted. The agency had earlier sought the Delhi High Court’s permission to discontinue the probe.

While accepting the closure report, the magistrate noted that the investigation could be revived if credible new information surfaces.