Delhi Court Convicts Ex-AAP Councillor, Four Others in IB Staffer's Murder
A Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma courts delivered the verdict in an open court. The detailed order has not been made public yet.
Hussain was convicted for murder, kidnapping with intent to confine, rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, and promoting enmity between different groups, among other charges. He was, however, acquitted on charges of hatching a criminal conspiracy and abetment of mutiny.
The court also convicted Javed, Anas, Nazim, and Kasim for the crime, while acquitting six other accused persons who had been facing trial in the case. Of the convicted, only Hussain, Nazim, and Kasim are in judicial custody; the others had been granted bail during the proceedings.
The case stems from an FIR registered at the Dayalpur police station based on a complaint by the deceased’s father, Ravinder Kumar. He stated that his son had returned home from work on February 25, 2020, but went out again on some work. When he did not return, the family launched a search and later learned he had been killed. His body was recovered from a drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh Pulia area. A post-mortem recorded 51 ante-mortem injuries from sharp-edged weapons and blunt force trauma. The father accused Hussain and others of the crime. On March 24, 2023, the trial court framed charges against the accused.
The court is expected to hear arguments on the quantum of sentence at a later date.
