A Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others in the 2020 murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the northeast Delhi riots, nearly six years after the incident.
Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court held Tahir Hussain, Nazim, Kashim, Anas and Javed guilty of murder, kidnapping, rioting and promoting enmity. Six other accused were acquitted due to lack of evidence.
IB officer's murder case
The case was registered at Dayalpur Police Station on the complaint of Sharma's father, Ravinder Kumar. According to the complaint, Ankit Sharma had returned home from work on February 25, 2020, but stepped out again later in the day and never came back. His family launched a search before learning that he had allegedly been killed and his body dumped in a drain near the Chand Bagh bridge in Khajuri Khas.
Police recovered Sharma's body from the drain on the morning of February 26. The post-mortem examination reportedly revealed multiple stab wounds.
Ravinder Kumar alleged that Sharma was murdered by Tahir Hussain and his associates, claiming the accused had gathered at Hussain's office before carrying out the crime and disposing of the body in the drain.
Case background
Following the allegations in 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party suspended Tahir Hussain from the party. On March 24, 2023, the court framed charges against Hussain and 10 others.
The killing occurred during the northeast Delhi riots that erupted in February 2020 amid clashes over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The violence claimed 53 lives, led to over 900 FIRs, more than 2,600 arrests, and prompted Delhi Police to constitute 40 investigation teams. Sentencing in the case is expected to take place separately.
