New Delhi: A Delhi police team is in Darbhanga in Bihar in search of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, who has been missing since October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with some members of ABVP the night before, police said on Tuesday.
“Whenever and from wherever any information is coming about Najeeb, teams are being sent there. A team has also been sent to Darbhanga,” a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, a Delhi Police team will also be going to Badaun to speak to a doctor, who was treating Najeeb for depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), even as his family members claimed that he was suffering from insomnia only and no other mental disorder.
“Najeeb was undergoing treatment for depression since 2012 in his hometown Badaun. A team will be visiting Badaun to question the doctor to know about Najeeb’s personality, his behaviour and his thought process,” said a senior police officer.
Sources said Najeeb’s family has not shared details that the JNU student was undergoing in Badaun. However, on the basis the prescriptions found in Najeeb’s hostel room, police questioned the doctor whom he had consulted in Delhi.
“According to prescriptions, Najeeb had been prescribed an anti-depressant and sleep inducer medicines in August by a doctor at VIMHANS,” he said.
On September 9, Najeeb had visited the hospital again with his mother and he was prescribed the anti-depressant drug and another drug to treat fits, police said, adding that he didn’t visit the hospital after that day. A psychiatrist from VIMHANS, who had been consulted by Najeeb and his mother twice in August and September was questioned by the SIT on October 23 to know about Najeeb’s mental condition.
“In her statement, she said that she was told by Najeeb’s family that he was undergoing treatment for depression in Badaun since 2012. She concluded in her diagnosis after speaking to Najeeb that he is suffering from OCD and depression,” said a senior police officer. She stated that people who are suffering from OCD tend to have negative thoughts in their mind, get upset with small things, answer only in ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
The doctor also told police that people suffering from OCD are not sure about themselves, tend to forget things and the medication prescribed to them has to be taken daily. If patients don’t take medicines regularly, their condition might worsen and may develop suicidal tendencies, she wrote in her statement given to the police.
Police is also mulling over the possibility of seeking the opinion of a mental health expert to decode Najeeb’s personality.
“We are thinking about making the investigating officer, Najeeb’s mother and a psychiatrist sit together and do a construction of Najeeb’s personality. It is possible we might seek the assistance of the VIMHANS doctor since she has met him or we might consult some other expert,” said the officer. The police is also considering issuing an appeal from Najeeb’s mother to urge him to come back.
“It is being considered to ask Najeeb’s mother to issue a message to her son asking him to come back. The video message will be aired across news channels. But it is still a suggestion and no final call has been taken,” added the officer.
More than 25 people have been questioned in the case, including the doctor who was treating Najeeb, his roommate Qasim, ABVP members, JNUSU president Mohit Pandey and former members of students union, but police hasn’t got any actionable clues that could lead them to Najeeb, who has been missing for over three weeks now.
A team is also working to gain clues to Najeeb’s personality through his social media profiles. He was active on social media and he had two Facebook profiles and his posts and messages are being analysed, said the officer.
Meanwhile, Najeeb’s family denied that he was suffering from OCD and claimed that he was only suffering from insomnia.
“All these claims about him being mentally unstable are false. We have told police right from the start that Najeeb was suffering from insomnia. He was a studious person and many persons who study for long hours suffer from insomnia. He was only taking medicines for that,” Najeeb’s brother Mujeeb said.
Police is making these claims just to hide their inefficiency in tracing my brother, he said, adding he was not mentally unstable.
Earlier, Najeeb’s family met Delhi police commissioner Alok Kumar Verma and today they had a meeting with home minister Rajnath Singh.
“It’s been 25 days since our brother went missing. Whether the police is conducting investigation promptly or slowly, the result has been zero,” Mujeeb said.
Najeeb’s brother also said that they also urged the Home Minister to initiate a CBI inquiry in the matter.
“He patiently heard us. We also discussed with him possibility of initiating a CBI inquiry. The SIT hasn’t been able to find Najeeb for the last so many days. It’s high time now that a CBI inquiry should be ordered,” Mujeeb said.
Najeeb (27) went missing on October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with some members of ABVP the night before.