Record witness statements on threat to Najeeb Ahmed by ABVP students: HC to police

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) The Delhi High Court on Friday asked Delhi Police to record the statement of witnesses present at the time of an altercation between JNU student Najeeb Ahmed and nine students of ABVP six months ago, about the "nature of threat" given to him.

A division bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Deepa Sharma asked why the statements of witnesses were not recorded by Delhi Police after Ahmed went missing in October last year after the altercation.

"What is the nature of threat? What words were used for threatening?," asked the bench, directing the police to record statements of persons present during the altercation.

Ahmed had slapped one of the nine students during an altercation in the hostel and in return they allegedly threatened him.

Police also submitted two sealed cover analysis reports of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad, regarding the contents of Ahmed’s laptop and mobile phone and of the nine students’ mobile phones.

The movement of the mobile phones of the nine students reveals nothing, said the police, adding that their mobile phones were shown to be in the hostels during the time of Ahmed’s disappearance, said the report.

Ahmed, 27, a first year M.Sc. student, went missing from his JNU hostel on the night of October 14-15, allegedly after an altercation with the members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s students wing, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

The court was hearing a habeas corpus plea filed by Ahmed’s mother Fatima Nafees that her son be produced by police and the Delhi government before the court.

The bench also sought response from the government on an application filed by the mother to disband Delhi Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), set up in October on the Centre’s direction and constitute a fresh team of SIT.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, who appeared for the student’s mother, said the history of the case shows their "collusion" with the nine accused students.

He also asked the court that police be directed for custodial interrogation of the nine students as they assaulted and threatened Ahmed before he went missing.

Advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the police, said the nine students have neither given their consent nor refusal for a lie detector test in the case. He said the students should come forward and take the polygraph test.

To this, the bench said that the students can not be forced to undergo polygraph test. "They should agree but if they want to live with the needle of suspicion what can be done," said the bench.

The bench posted the matter for May 12.