A Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court delivered the verdict, holding Hussain guilty of murder, rioting, promoting enmity between groups, unlawful assembly and other offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, the court acquitted Hussain of the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC.
The court also convicted co-accused Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas. Six other accused were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence against them.
Court Says Hussain Instigated Mob
According to the court, the evidence showed that Tahir Hussain acted as an instigator during the violence.
The court observed that Hussain “played the role of instigator to kill Hindus” and exhorted the mob to “not spare Hindus.”
He was convicted under Sections 188, 153A, 147, 148, 149, 365 and 302 of the IPC, relating to disobedience of public orders, promoting enmity, rioting, unlawful assembly, kidnapping and murder.
Case Linked to 2020 Delhi Riots
The case arose from an FIR filed by Ankit Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, at Dayalpur Police Station on February 26, 2020.
According to the complaint, violence between anti-CAA and pro-CAA groups had continued for several days in the Chand Bagh area, involving stone-pelting, arson, firing and vandalism.
Ravinder Kumar alleged that Tahir Hussain, who was then an AAP councillor, had gathered armed men at his office near the protest site.
He claimed that stones, petrol bombs and gunshots were fired from the rooftop of Hussain’s building, creating panic in the area.
Family Alleged Hussain’s Involvement
The complaint stated that Ankit Sharma had left home on February 25, 2020, to buy household items but did not return. His family later learned from local residents that he had allegedly been killed and his body thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain near Chand Bagh.
Sharma’s body was later recovered from the drain.
Ravinder Kumar accused Hussain and his associates of murdering his son before disposing of the body.
One of the Key Cases from Delhi Riots
The murder took place during the communal violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020 amid protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).
The riots claimed 53 lives and left hundreds injured, making them one of the deadliest episodes of communal violence in the national capital in recent years.
The court is expected to hear arguments on the quantum of sentence separately.
According to reports from inside the courtroom, Tahir Hussain broke down after the verdict was pronounced.
