Only paperwork, no answer by cops in probe to trace Najeeb: HC

New Delhi: Except for paperwork and wasting of time and public money, nothing else is happening in the probe to trace missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad, the Delhi High Court said and directed the police to “find him”.

“Except for paperwork, nothing else is happening. Your investigating officer (IO) is wasting time. By sending him out to check records of police stations and hospitals on the Delhi-Bareilly-Haridwar route, you are wasting public money,” the court said.

A bench of Justices GS Sistani and Vinod Goel conveyed to DCP (Crime) Ramgopal Naik that it wants an answer “one way or the other” and told him to “do whatever you have to do” to find the student, who is missing since October 15 last year.

“One way or the other we want an answer. If he is dead, say he is dead. We won’t accept paperwork. Do whatever you have to. Find him,” the bench said and warned “else we will have someone else here”.

The court directed Delhi Police to give the call records of the nine students suspected to be behind Najeeb’s disappearance and listed the habeas corpus petition filed by Najeeb’s mother on March 31.

The court’s observation came after advocate Pallavi Sharma, appearing for Najeeb’s mother, contended that the steps taken by Delhi Police to trace the student were “cosmetic” in nature and “no serious endeavours were being made” to find him.

She also claimed that the police were “attempting to shield” the nine students, who are suspects in the case and may have information about Najeeb, instead of interrogating them.

The lawyer said that even the trial court was stuck on the issue of carrying out polygraph test of the nine students as they have filed several applications claiming the trial court does not have the power to decide the issue.

The nine are neither giving consent nor recording their refusal to the test, she said. The trial court is likely to pronounce its order on the students’ application on March 20.