11 Police teams working round the clock to trace Najeeb

There are 11 teams working under the supervision of two DCPs of Crime Branch to trace Najeeb, who had gone missing on October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with ABVP members.

New Delhi, Dec 14: Even after two months of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed's mysterious disappearance, Delhi Police hasn't been able to find any breakthroughs despite round-the-clock efforts and several teams working on different clues to trace the student.

There are 11 teams working under the supervision of two DCPs of Crime Branch to trace Najeeb, who had gone missing on October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with ABVP members the night before.

Delhi Police has raised the reward amount for providing information that could help locate Najeeb from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh The case was transferred to Crime Branch from South district police last month owing to the "sensitivity" of the case. In the last few days, police has conducted search operations in dargahs, mosques and madrassas in Delhi, Aligarh, Bareilly and Badaun for Najeeb, said a senior police officer.

The Delhi High Court today directed the police to "scan" the entire campus, including hostels, classrooms and rooftops, of the varsity by using sniffer dogs. Police will carry out a thorough search of the campus using sniffer dogs after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and its student union, JNUSU, file affidavits in two days stating they have no objection to the "thorough search" and that all assistance would be provided to the police, said the officer.

The court also said the police was free to search Jamia Millia Islamia also, where Najeeb was dropped by an auto-rickshaw driver after he had left from JNU campus.

The four students, who are suspected of beating up Najeeb, are likely to put to lie-detector tests to get leads or clues about his disappearance and whereabouts. The eleven teams of Delhi Police are working on various probabilities that include the chances of Najeeb going into self-concealment fearing a threat to his life and the possibility of someone close to him instigating him to go into hiding, said the officer.

The police is also working on the theory whether he was abducted by someone and the probabilities of him harming himself or falling prey to a mishap, he said. Last week, Najeeb's mother had issued a public appeal asking Najeeb to come back.

PTI