NEFIS decries Delhi police inaction
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 13 2025: The North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) has denounced what it calls "gross apathy and inaction" of Delhi Police in the disappearance of 19-year-old university student Sneha Debnath, who has been missing since July 7, 2025 .

Debnath, a first-year student at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College, University of Delhi, was last traced to the Signature Bridge area.

According to NEFIS, all 60 CCTV cameras on the structure were found to be out of order, depriving investigators of potentially crucial footage.

"This amounts to a blatant failure to ensure public safety and has severely hindered the investigation," the organisation said in a statement released Sunday.

The student's family, who are from Tripura, claim they were unable to register a First Information Report (FIR) for more than 48 hours - a delay NEFIS said squandered "the crucial early window" for tracing a missing person.

NEFIS alleged that police have since offered only "repeated false assurances" and have shown little tangible progress after nearly a week.

"It is, moreover, appalling that the police authorities appear to be entirely apathetic, about the issue, six days after the incident, despite an increase in crimes against women and rising incidents of racism and violence against students from the North-East, particularly women.

Reports suggest that the police authorities are attempting to dismiss this incident as a case of suicide rather than investigating it from all possible angles," NEFIS added.

The forum demanded an immediate and comprehensive investigation into Sneha Debnath's disappearance, with daily public updates from Delhi Police.

It also called for the suspension of the officers responsible for what it terms "gross negligence", along with the dismissal of officials from the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation and the Public Works Department for their failure to maintain critical CCTV infrastructure.

Furthermore, NEFIS urged the government to order a judicial enquiry into the sequence of systemic lapses - including the delayed filing of the FIR, the lack of CCTV footage, and the overall mishandling of the case - to ensure greater accountability and action on issues concerning the safety of women, students, and people from the North-East in Delhi.

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