Delhi Riots Case: Court Convicts Tahir Hussain in IB Officer Ankit Sharma Murder, Family Still Haunted by 2020 Tragedy
New Delhi: More than six years after the violence in northeast Delhi, a local court has convicted former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma, whose death became one of the most tragic incidents during the 2020 Delhi riots.
Hussain, along with Javed, Anas, Nazim and Kasim, has been found guilty of murder, rioting and other offences. However, the court acquitted them of the charge of criminal conspiracy. Six other accused were also acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
The case dates back to February 2020, when northeast Delhi witnessed widespread violence during protests and counter-protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Several areas, including Chand Bagh, Khajuri Khas and Mustafabad, were affected as clashes broke out, leading to deaths, injuries and damage to property.
According to the investigation, 26-year-old IB officer Ankit Sharma had returned home from work on February 25, 2020, when he encountered a tense situation outside his house. Witnesses and the police chargesheet stated that Sharma stepped out in an attempt to calm the situation.
He was allegedly surrounded by a mob and taken towards an area near Hussain’s residence, where he was attacked with sharp weapons. His body was later found in a drain on February 26.
Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, a former police officer, had reported his son missing after he failed to return home. During the search, residents informed police about a body found in a drain, which was later identified as Sharma’s.
The postmortem report revealed multiple severe injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons. Investigators said the body had been thrown into the drain in an alleged attempt to hide evidence.
The trial court had earlier framed charges against 11 accused, including Hussain, for offences including murder, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and criminal conspiracy. The prosecution had alleged that Hussain played a role in instigating the mob, though the court later did not find enough evidence to prove the conspiracy charge.
The case remains one of the most closely followed matters linked to the northeast Delhi riots, which left several people dead and many others injured.
News source: Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
