2020 Delhi riots: Tahir Hussain's sentencing in Ankit Sharma murder case on July 23

Ex-AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain was convicted of offences including murder, kidnapping, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and disobeying public order. However, the court acquitted him of charges related to criminal conspiracy, abetment and statements allegedly causing public mischief.

In Short

• Court says the accused formed unlawful assembly to kill IB officer
• Judgment says Hussain joined crowd bent on rioting, arson and looting
• The armed mob dragged Sharma away before killing him

A day after convicting former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others in the 2020 murder case of IB staffer Ankit Sharma during the northeast Delhi riots, a Delhi court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on July 23. The court held that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused were part of an unlawful assembly involved in the killing.

In its judgment, the court said Hussain was part of a large crowd that had gathered near Chand Bagh Pulia around 5 pm on February 25, 2020, with the common objective of indulging in rioting, arson, looting and attacking members of the Hindu community.

The court said the prosecution had successfully established that the members of the assembly knew their actions could lead to deaths.

It further held that the armed mob indulged in violence, rioting, arson and looting, and that its members surrounded and dragged Ankit Sharma towards Chand Bagh Pulia before subjecting him to a "savage and relentless assault" that led to his death.

The court held that Hussain was responsible for the offences as a member of the unlawful assembly, even though it did not find that he personally inflicted the fatal injuries.

Hussain was convicted of offences including murder, kidnapping, rioting, promoting enmity between groups and disobeying public order. However, the court acquitted him of charges related to criminal conspiracy, abetment and statements allegedly causing public mischief.

Besides Hussain, the court convicted Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas. Six other accused were acquitted after the court found insufficient evidence against them.

While examining the evidence, the court did not rely on the testimony of two police witnesses who had placed Hussain at the riot site, citing inconsistencies with their earlier statements.

Instead, the court relied on the statement of a local witness recorded before a magistrate. Although the witness later partially turned hostile during the trial, the court noted that he had admitted his earlier statement was true.

The court also rejected the defence's claims that the FIR was manipulated and that Hussain was falsely implicated.

The verdict is among the most significant judicial outcomes in cases linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and scores injured, making them one of the deadliest episodes of violence in the national capital in recent years.

- Ends