Aug. 30, 2021: As the world observes International Day of Enforced Disappearances, a mother from an Indian Muslim family is waiting for her son to return almost five years after his disappearance.

Najeeb Ahmed went missing from the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on October 15, 2016, after a scuffle with members of the right-wing student outfit Akhal Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is a wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh (RSS).

Founded in 1925 in the style of Germany’s Nazi Party, the RSS is the ideological patron of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several leading BJP politicians among its millions of members across India.

Ahmed’s case has been investigated by the top Indian investigative agencies, but his family believes authorities are with those responsible for the student’s disappearance.

Nothing is known about the disappearance of the 31 year old Biotechnology student who was doing his Masters from renowned Indian varsity JNU. Belonging to a poor family, he was the eldest of three brothers and a sister. But Ahmed’s mother, Fatima Nafees, said she had not given up hope of seeing her son again.

Nafeess, the mother of Najeeb said she is angry with the Indian government because, after nearly five years, her son has not been found.

“His disappearance was part of a conspiracy by the government, so not much can be expected from them. My child has been used as a pawn by others,” she said, without naming who the “others” were.

Ahmed enrolled at JNU on August 1, 2016, and disappeared on October 15 that year.

“It is shocking that top government agencies have investigated Najib’s case but no one has been able to find him,” Nafees said.

“First, the Delhi Police investigated his case, then the Crime Branch of the police, and finally the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the country’s main investigative agency.”

In Ahmed’s case, the police filed the FIR on October 15, 2016. Nine suspects have been named in connection with the disappearance.

There has not been much progress in the police investigation.

Unhappy with the investigation, Nafees went to the Delhi High Court next month. In May 2017, the court referred the case to the CBI, which is controlled by the Indian Federal Ministry of Home Affairs.

In December of that year, Ahmed’s mother again accused the CBI of not questioning the accused as it should have been.

The Indian CBI had said in May 2018 that it had not found any evidence to suggest that any crime had been committed against Najib. In October of the same year, the investigating agency filed a closure report in the Delhi High Court, effectively ending the investigation into the case.

Nafees says that, from the beginning, the local Indian police and investigating agencies tried to weaken the case and shield the suspects.

“They did not act with alacrity to recover Najeeb. But I would not let these people succeed in their design,” she said about the Indian authorities.

Ahmed’s younger brother, Haseeb, said the family is ready for a new legal battle. For Nafees, the fight continues until her son comes back and is reunited with her.