Three years after JNU student Najeeb Ahmed went missing, his mother Fatima Nafees appealed to the government on Tuesday to bring him back and alleged that the investigative agencies are not doing enough.
Ahmed had gone missing from the Mahi-Mandvi hostel of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here on October 15, 2016, following a scuffle the previous night with some students allegedly affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
The case was initially being probed by the Delhi Police but was later transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which had filed a closure report.
Nafees was also joined by Kavitha Lankesh, sister of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh, Tabrez Ansari's wife, author Arundhati Roy and prominent lawyer Prashant Bhushan, along with scores of students from JNU, Jamia and other universities at Jantar Mantar.
Nafees thanked the students who turned up to voice their support for her.
"It is a slap on the face of the government that not only students from Delhi but also from all over India have turned up to support me. These students will do the country proud in the entire world," she said.
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She said she has only one appeal after three years and that is to get her son back.
"The investigating agencies say they have done everything but they only followed what the court asked them to do. They did not even investigate the case. I just want my son back," she said.
Roy raised the issue of Tabrez Ansari's killing.
Ansari (24) was thrashed by a mob for alleged theft in Jharkhand's Saraikela- Kharsawan. Videos showing Ansari being beaten up while tied to a pole had gone viral. His tormentors were seen forcing him to chant "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman".
"All the institutions- court, police are responsible for Tabrez's killing. He was killed by the institutions of the country. Poor children are selling flags and 'My country is great statues' but our country is not great. We have to work hard to achieve greatness," Roy said.
Lankesh's sister concurred with Roy and said she was present to express solidarity for a democratic and secular nation.
"As a mother of a 15-year-old child, I can understand the pain Fatima must be going through, not knowing where her son is for the last three years. My sister Gauri was shot dead because she wanted a secular nation. I am here to express solidarity for a democratic and secular nation where nobody should be scared," she said.