JNU students to hold protest march as Centre constitutes SIT to trace missing Najeeb Ahmed

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students will on Friday hold a protest outside the Home Ministry to press the authorities to expedite search for missing student Najeeb Ahmed.

The JNU students' union's call for for a protest came hours after the Delhi police constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the case.

The order was passed by Home Ministry after the protesting JNU students allowed Vice Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar to leave his office after keeping him confined to it for almost 20 hours in connection with the case.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Nupur Prasad later told media 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. Meanwhile, 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 a TV news 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.