Delhi riots: Court convicts ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in IB officer murder case

The murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots has resulted in the conviction of former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain and four others. The riots, which erupted following protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, claimed 53 lives and displaced several families. More than six years later, a Delhi court delivered its verdict on July 12, 2026, and sentenced the five convicts to life imprisonment on July 31.

The case dates back to February 25, 2020, when 26-year-old Ankit Sharma left his home in Northeast Delhi amid the violence and did not return. His father, Ravinder Kumar, who served in the Delhi Police, filed a missing person's complaint at the Dayalpur police station that night. The next day, Sharma's body was recovered from a drain near Chand Bagh. The post-mortem report recorded 51 external injuries, including stab wounds and blunt-force trauma.

The prosecution's case against Tahir Hussain rested on the allegation that Sharma was taken to a building owned by Hussain, where he was killed by rioters. The Crime Branch said it recovered petrol bombs, stones, acid packets, slingshots, and other projectiles from the site. Investigators also relied on CCTV footage, forensic evidence, and testimonies of 91 witnesses. They argued that Hussain was part of an unlawful assembly, that his premises were used during the violence, and that he encouraged or facilitated the attacking mob. Sharma, they said, was intercepted by this mob, assaulted, and fatally stabbed before his body was dumped in the drain.

Based on this, police charged Hussain and ten others with offences including murder, kidnapping, rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, and promoting enmity between communities under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The defence disputed the investigation, alleging the FIR was ante-timed and that witness statements were recorded with delays. It also contended that several eyewitnesses changed their versions during trial and that some did not identify Hussain as part of the mob.

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court rejected the defence's claims of a flawed investigation. The court held that the evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that Hussain, Nazim, Kasim, Javed, and Anas were members of an unlawful assembly. It said the assembly had gathered with “animus against Hindus” and a common object of rioting, loot, arson, and damage to property and persons of the Hindu community. Although the assembly may not have been formed specifically to kill Ankit Sharma, its members knew that death was a likely consequence of their actions, the court said. This attracted liability under Section 149 of the IPC, which holds every member of an unlawful assembly responsible for offences committed in furtherance of its common object.

The court's reasoning meant that even without proof that Hussain personally inflicted the fatal injuries, his participation in the unlawful assembly was sufficient to convict him of murder. However, all five were acquitted of criminal conspiracy, as the prosecution failed to prove a prior agreement or meeting of minds to commit the offence. Six co-accused were also acquitted.

The sentencing hearing saw the court describe the killing as “exceptionally brutal” but concluded that it did not meet the “rarest of rare” standard required for the death penalty. The five convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment.