New Delhi: In a new twist in case of Jawaharlal Nehru University student Najeeb Ahmad, who has been missing since October 15, the president of JNU's hostel union said it is wrong to blame Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for the violence on October 14 night.
It has been 11 days since a 27-year-old MSc student, Najeeb Ahmad, has been missing from the university. On October 14 night, Ahmad was allegedly beaten up by a mob of students, allegedly ABVP members, after a student named Vikrant had gone to his room at Mahi-Mandavi hostel to campaign for the post of mess secretary and got into an altercation with him.
Reports had earlier said that a mob of around 30 students rained blows, abuses, and communal slurs on Ahmad on October 14 night.
However, J Alimuddin Khan, the president of JNU's hostel union, has stoked a fresh controversy by recounting the events took place on that day: "I got a call around 11.30 am and was told that Najeeb had hit someone for wearing a 'kaleva' (sacred red thread) on his wrist. When I reached the hostel, his roommate, Qasim, said Najeeb was a threat and should be kept out of the hostel.”
"Najeeb was kept near the washroom, away from the students. He said sorry to me and promised never to repeat it. We decided to take him to the senior warden's house. But as soon as we stepped out, the agitated students pounced on him. We still managed to take him to the warden's place with the help of security," The Times of India quoted Khan as saying.
The warden then decided to take action against Vikrant for assaulting Najeeb. However, he was asked to withdraw Najeeb's hostel facility for slapping Vikrant. "Everyone, including JNUSU president Mohit Pandey, agreed to this," Khan added.
The president of JNU's hostel union further said the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) later convened a meeting with Muslim students in a bid to give a communal colour to the incident. Pandey has rubbished Khan's claim.
Khan added that around 10-15 students belonging to various political groups had assaulted Najeeb.
"But it was a political afterthought to call all of them ABVP goons. Instead of looking for Najeeb, everyone is now politicising the issue," Khan alleged.
Later, Najeeb was summoned for a meeting with hostel's senior warden but he was found to be missing.
"After that, the students blocked the north gate and an all-organisation meeting was called. Whenever such meetings are called, NSUI and ABVP are not invited. I was told to keep quiet about it, and it was decided that no one will speak about Najeeb first slapping Vikrant," Khan alleged.
Pandey, however, said Khan may have got money to divert attention from the issue of finding Najeeb.
Although, an FIR has been filed and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to trace Najeeb, the communal rift in the premier university is constantly widening and has become more obvious than ever before.
