Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain will be sentenced on Thursday in the 2020 Delhi riots case involving the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma.
On July 13, six years after the riots, Delhi’s Karkardooma Court convicted Tahir Hussain and four others in the case. The court of Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh acquitted six of the 11 accused.
Nazim, Kashim, Anas, Javed and Tahir Hussain were found guilty of murder, kidnapping, promoting enmity and rioting.
IB officer Ankit Sharma had gone out again after coming home from office on the evening of the violence, when he was murdered.
Ankit Sharma’s body was found in a drain in the riot-hit area
The case was registered at Dayalpur Police Station on the complaint of Ankit Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar. On February 25, 2020, Ankit returned home from work but later stepped out again and did not come back. While the family was searching for him, they were informed that he had been killed and his body had been dumped in the Khajuri Khas drain near the Chand Bagh culvert. The next morning, police recovered his body from the drain.
Ravinder Kumar alleged that his son was murdered by then AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and his associates. According to the complaint, the accused had gathered at Tahir Hussain’s office, and after the murder, Ankit’s body was thrown into the drain.
Ankit’s body lying in the drain, there were 51 injury marks on his body.
After Tahir Hussain’s name surfaced in the case, the Aam Aadmi Party suspended him. On March 24, 2023, the court framed charges against Tahir Hussain and 10 other accused.
Riots broke out during anti-CAA protests
The violence erupted on February 23, 2020, when supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) came face to face. Clashes and stone-pelting followed, and the riots continued until February 26.
A total of 53 people were killed and more than 250 were injured. Among those killed were 38 Muslims and 15 Hindus. Around 800 shops were set on fire, and more than 500 houses were torched.
Tahir contested the 2025 Delhi Assembly election while out on parole
Tahir Hussain contested the February 2025 Delhi Assembly elections from the Mustafabad constituency on an AIMIM ticket led by Asaduddin Owaisi. BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht won the seat, while Tahir Hussain finished third with around 33,000 votes.
Hussain had been granted custody parole to campaign for the election.
