The mysterious disappearance of Najeeb Ahmad, a first year M.Sc. biotechnology student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), has taken a communal colour with both Left and Right-leaning student groups accusing each other of communally polarising the vibrant campus – which is known for its pluralism.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
The 27-year-old went missing from his room (number 106) at Mahi-Mandavi Hostel at around 11 am on Saturday after being allegedly assaulted by fellow residents associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
More than 80 hours have passed, but there is no information on his whereabouts.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
The JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) on Monday alleged that Najeeb was “communally targeted” by the ABVP affiliates.
“When Najeeb – accompanied by residents of the hostel, G4S security men and Senior Warden Dr Sushil Kumar – started moving to the warden’s office on the ground floor, he was criminally intimated, communally targeted and physically assaulted by the same group of students (who had attacked him twice or thrice at first floor of the hostel),” the JNUSU said in a statement released on Monday evening.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
There are – alleged the union dominated by left-backed student groups – “serious efforts to “communalise the issue” and “concentrated efforts to communally polarise the campus”.
Offensive statements like ‘Muslims are terrorists’ were allegedly written on a table of the common room and other places.
It is pertaining to mention here Mahi-Mandavi Hostel has the highest number of Muslim residents (103 of the total 380) as compared to other halls of residence of the university. Interestingly, ABVP too has strong base in the hostel.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
A majority of the occupants of the hostel Indiatimes spoke to also corroborate the JNUSU allegation. They attacks of communal nature have taken place in the hostel earlier as well.
“ABVP activists tore the time-table posters pasted ahead of this year’s Ramadan,” said a hosteller on the condition of anonymity.
The other said, “Communal abuses were hurled at me few months back when I had objected to loud music being played by some students in the hostel.” Even in case of Najeeb, objectionable statements which were allegedly communal in nature were hurled at him in presence of three wardens and JNU security officials.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
Denying the allegations and terming them as “fiction”, the ABVP, on the other hand, said the alleged scuffle was actually a “one-sided assault”, in which mess secretary candidates Vikrant and Ankit were “physically thrashed and abused” by Najeeb Ahmad during room to room campaign for hostel elections.
One more hosteller Sunil, who was accompanying Vikrant and Ankit, was also subjected to caste-sensitive abuses, it said.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
“Najeeb has accepted that he slapped Vikrant because he was wearing kalawa (a sacred red thread tied on the wrist). This incident was basically a hate crime against the three students,” the ABVP said in a counter statement that too released on Monday.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
It further alleged several students from Jamia Millia Islamia were called by the JNUSU to show muscle power during a protest the union had organised in front of the main gate on Sunday night.
“It is being heard that the outsiders were brandishing sharp weapons,” said the statement signed by Alok Singh, JNU-ABVP president, and Lalit Pandey, JNU-ABVP secretary.
In addition, cashing on the stereotypes associated with Jamia Millia Islamia and Jamia Nagar locality, where the university is situated, it is also being said that Najeeb first took admission in Jamia and stayed in Zakir Nagar for one month.
JNU
Tarique Anwar/Indiatimes
Umar Khalid, who is out on bail in a sedition case that was filed against him and other JNU students – including Kanhaiya Kumar – for allegedly raising anti-national slogans in February this year to mark the hanging anniversary of Afzal Guru, says the ABVP is now trying to spread communal frenzy in the campus.
“Writing choicest of abuses for Muslims, calling them Pakistanis and terrorists is now happening in JNU. The ABVP in its classic manner is also spreading all kinds of rumours about the incident,” he told