More than six years after Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma was killed during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain and four others in the murder case, while acquitting six co-accused due to insufficient evidence.
Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh, who was hearing the case involving 11 accused, convicted Tahir Hussain, Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas.
Hussain was found guilty under charges related to murder, promoting enmity between religious groups, rioting and using criminal force to dishonour a person. However, the court acquitted him of the charge of criminal conspiracy.
According to reports from the courtroom, Hussain became emotional and broke down after the verdict was delivered.
CASE STEMMED FROM ANKIT SHARMA'S DISAPPEARANCE
The case originated from an FIR filed at Dayalpur police station by Ravinder Kumar, the father of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma.
As per the complaint, Sharma returned home from work on February 25, 2020, before leaving again later that day. When he failed to return, his family began searching for him.
Residents later informed the family that Sharma had been killed and his body had been dumped in the Khajuri Khas drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh Pulia area. Police subsequently recovered the body from the drain.
In his complaint, Ravinder Kumar alleged that Sharma was murdered by then AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others. He claimed the accused had gathered at Hussain's office before the killing and later disposed of Sharma's body.
FIVE FOUND GUILTY, SIX ACQUITTED
Along with Hussain, the court convicted Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas. The remaining six accused were acquitted after the court ruled that the evidence presented against them was insufficient.
The 11 accused in the case were Tahir Hussain, Haseen alias Mullaji alias Salman, Nazim, Kasim, Sameer Khan, Anas, Firoz, Javed, Gulfam, Shoaib Alam alias Bobby and Muntajim alias Musa.
Earlier, on March 24, 2023, the court had framed charges against all 11 accused under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, rioting with deadly weapons, promoting enmity between groups, murder and criminal conspiracy.
Hussain also faced additional charges related to abetment and making statements likely to incite public mischief.
CONNECTED TO 2020 DELHI RIOTS
The killing occurred during the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020 amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The clashes, which involved widespread stone-pelting, arson and vandalism, claimed 53 lives and left many others injured, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence in the national capital in recent years.
The verdict is one of the most significant judicial rulings in cases linked to the 2020 Delhi riots. The court is expected to hear arguments on sentencing separately.
