JNU students lift VC office siege; SIT to locate missing student (Roundup)

Protesting Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students on Thursday let Vice Chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar leave his office after keeping him confined to it for almost 20 hours as thed Delhi Police formed an SIT to located a missing varsity student.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) was set up to probe the case of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed following Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's directions.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Nupur Prasad told IANS that the SIT will be headed by Additional DCP Munishi Chandra.

The Delhi Police earlier in the day announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for any information on Ahmed, five days after he went missing from the JNU campus.

A police complaint was filed under Section 365 of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person.

The JNU also initiated a proctorial inquiry into the case.

Ahmed's mother Fatima urged authorities to help her find her son.

"Let me see the face of my child once. Keep him (after that) for a month if you like. I won't say a word. But just let me see him once," Fatima told CNN News18 channel.

"I am from a very small place... I want to see my child safe. I don't know if he has eaten anything or is hungry," the sobbing woman said.

"My appeal to everyone is to help me find my child," said Fatima, who rushed from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh after receiving a frantic call from Ahmed on October 14 night.

Ahmed went missing on October 15 night from university hostel after a brawl with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad members.

JNU students carrying photos of Ahmed went about in the neighbourhood inquiring about him. They also pasted "missing posters" in areas around the JNU and on various roads leading to the varsity campus.

On October 18, the Vice Chancellor met Ahmed's parents and apprised them of efforts to find him.

Earlier in the day, amid protests over the missing student, Home Minister Rajnath Singh asked Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma for a detailed report.

He was also briefed by Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju.

--IANS

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