Najeeb’s mother detained during protest outside Delhi High Court

Delhi Police on Monday “forcefully removed” missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad’s grieving mother from outside Delhi High Court premises, while some 30-odd protesters were detained for the alleged inaction by the investigating authorities.

Delhi Police on Monday “forcefully removed” missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad’s grieving mother from outside Delhi High Court premises, while some 30-odd protesters were detained for the alleged inaction by the investigating authorities.

Cops take away missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmad’s mother Fatima Nafees from a protest outside Delhi High Court on Monday. (Sourced)

“They are trying to push me away to hide their own incapability,” said a distraught Fatima Nafees, before breaking down into wails demanding justice for her missing son outside the Tilak Marg Police station, where she was brought to from the protest site.

Nafees had initially planned to leave for her hometown, Budaun in western UP, after the hearing and protests, but has now claimed that she was hurt during the police’s “manhandling,” and will be in Delhi for the time being.

“She is complaining that her arm is hurting, so we are getting X-rays done. So for the time being, we will be in Delhi, and see what the doctors say,” said Mujeeb Ahmad, Nafees’ other son.

The Delhi High Court was slated to hear a habeas corpus petition filed by Fatima Nafees, Najeeb’s mother, on Monday, and they had asked people to assemble outside the court to “demand a speedy and impartial enquiry by an independent team monitored by the court”.

A police official involved in the incident said that the area outside Delhi High Court was a “red zone” and, hence the protesters had to be cleared.

“Just earlier this week, we had stopped the firecracker vendors near Hanuman Mandir itself, and did not even allow them to get as close as these people did... We had detained around 25-30 protesters, but Najeeb’s mother was not detained. We had just removed her from the protest site, and let her go when we reached the station,” he said.

The officer also said that they had intimated the president of the JNU students union, Geeta Kumari, about the restrictions and informed her to organise the protests at the Ramleela Maidan in Central Delhi.

“This is a routine message that they send out before any protest that they do not like. But the fact is, there have been instances of protests at the high court earlier too,” said Kumari.