A Delhi court has convicted former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. The Karkardooma Court also found him guilty of offences including rioting but dropped the charge of criminal conspiracy.
The court also convicted Nazim, Qasim, Anas and Javed of murder, kidnapping, promoting enmity and rioting. Five men, including Hussain, were convicted for Sharma’s murder, while six other accused were acquitted.
All the convicted men, except Tahir Hussain, Nazim and Qasim, had been granted bail earlier. Hussain’s bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court in September last year.
The case relates to FIR No. 65 of 2020, registered at Dayalpur police station on a complaint filed by Ankit Sharma’s father. He reported his son missing after Sharma left home at around 5 pm on the day of the riots to buy groceries and other household items but did not return.
Sharma’s body was later found in a drain near Chand Bagh Pulia. He was declared brought dead at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital. According to the prosecution, he had suffered multiple sharp-force injuries to his head, face, chest, back and waist.
In his complaint, Sharma’s father said he strongly suspected that Tahir Hussain and his associates were responsible for his son’s murder.
The post-mortem report found that Ankit Sharma had sustained 51 injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons and blunt force.
In March 2023, the trial court framed charges against Tahir Hussain, Haseen, Nazim, Qasim, Sameer Khan, Anas, Firoz, Javed, Gulfam, Shoaib Alam and Muntajim.
The accused were charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting, promoting enmity, murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and unlawful assembly. Tahir Hussain also faced additional charges related to abetment and public mischief, while Nazim was additionally charged under the Arms Act.
