Jawaharlal Nehru University students on Wednesday night locked senior university officials, including Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar into the varsity's administrative block, three days after the city police confirmed that a student had gone missing. The protesting students demanded that a First Information Report be lodged in the case, The Times of India reported.
Najeeb Ahmed, a member of the All India Students' Association, has been missing since he was expelled from the hostel after an altercation with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on the night of October 16. The heated exchange took place in Ahmed's hostel room, where the ABVP members had come while campaigning for the hostel mess committee elections.
Kumar said, "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." The woman in question was later allowed to leave the building. While the officials said students were lying on the ground outside the administrative bloc, saying the officials were free to walk over them, the students union claimed that there was no “illegal detention”.
JNUSU president Mohit Pandey said, "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." Ahmed’s mother Fatima said, “It has been four days... Where is my son? Bring him back...” She said that while her son was missing, the boys who attacked him were roaming freely, The Hindu reported.
The hostel warden, Sushil Kumar, held an emergency meeting with university officials on October 14, where they decided to expel Ahmed. However, Kumar said Ahmed was not aware of the decision to expel him before he went missing the next morning. Kumar said, "Ahmed accepted that he incited physical violence in front of everybody…Inciting physical violence also requires that the hostel provision be withdrawn.”
Ahmed allegedly accepted that he had slapped ABVP student Vikrant Kumar “without any provocation” in front of two other students, according to minutes of the meeting accessed by dna.
Union minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the students for the protest. He said, "Gheraoing the VC and other officials is sad, it seems some students come to do politics and not study."
The Delhi Police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for any information about Ahmed. The missing student’s posters have been put up at various places in the Capital. A case of kidnapping and wrongful confinement has also been registered at the Vasant Kunj police station. The ABVP has filed a separate case against Ahmad, who was enrolled for an MSc in Biotechnology at JNU.
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