Nearly two months after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Najeeb Ahmad went missing from campus, the university administration on December 8 said that it had identified the students involved in the scuffle that preceded Ahmad’s disappearance. The administration has said it will issue a strong warning to the students and said that it will transfer them from their present hostel. The JNUSU, the ABVP, and Najeeb’s family have criticised the university’s action.
The Office of the Chief Proctor, which was inquiring into the alleged scuffle at Mahi-Mandavi hostel, submitted its report on December 8. The Proctorial Inquiry Report has recommended strong warning be issued to the students and that they be immediately transferred from their “their present hostel”. The six identified students are reported to be ABVP activists.
The Vice-Chancellor has approved the report of the Chief Proctor, a statement issued by the University said. It also says that disciplinary action awarded by the Warden’s Committee to Ahmad for vacating the hostel may be revisited after he is found. The administration has asked him to return to JNU without any “apprehension”.
Criticising the report, Mohit Pandey, president of the JNU students’ union (JNUSU) said that the administration has recommended the “mildest punishment” to the ABVP members. Najeeb’s sister Sadaf Musharraf also criticised the report for not being just.
Former Joint Secretary of JNUSU and ABVP member Saurabh Sharma, on the other hand, criticised the report for being motivated by the politics of the students’ union, the teachers’ union of the university, and the Delhi government.