‘Ammi’ – Documentary on Najeeb and his mother’s struggle for her disappeared son

New Delhi, 12 Jan 2019 [Fik/News Sources]: A JNU first year Muslim student Najeeb Ahmed who went missing on October 2016 after a brawl with members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Mahi-Mandavi Hostel remains missing even till this date with speculations of him being hacked to death after the brawl has been amongst nation’s sensational news.

‘Ammi’ is a documentary on Najeeb Ahmad’s unfortunate events which led t his sudden disappearance from the campus hostel after the brawl. The documentary was recently screened at a theater on Thursday in New Delhi, Hindu reports.

‘Ammi’s director Sunil Kumar addressing the screening said: “A lot of people did not understand the incident at all… There were multiple narratives on what happened, all without a counter-narrative. That is why I wanted to do this film, which could say something in detail.”

Mr Kumar speaking about the documentary the director said he had started shooting shortly after Najeeb disappeared, the aftermath and developments followed by his disappearance, the protests — from inside the university to the streets of Delhi and sit-ins outside the CBI headquarters.

The documentary also has testimonies of witnesses from the day Najeeb disappeared which speak about how he was allegedly beaten by those identified as members of the ABVP and taken before the warden.

While Najeeb’s mother Fatima Nafees and sister continue to demand his return and conduct a “proper investigation” and bring him back.

MP Manoj Jha said what happened with Najeeb was not just “a failure of the investigating agencies but showed a problem with the entire system”.

Responding to Ms Nafees Najeeb’s mother for her resilience, Mr. Jha said, “We will continue to believe that he [Najeeb] will come back.”

JNU Professor Nivedita Menon, who attacked the university administration and lauded Ms. Nafees for the strength she has shown, said the documentary brought tears to her eyes, but also made her blood boil.

Ms. Nafees was also present at the screening, thanked people in support of
her fight for her son.

Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani compared Najeeb’s incident with the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case and Rohith Vemula’s suicide and argued that systems of justice fail for the poor.