Delhi riots: Tahir Hussain, four others sentenced to life in IB officer Ankit Sharma murder case

A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 NorthEast Delhi riotsWATCH Delhi The Karkardooma Court sentenced former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and others to life imprisonment in the case involving the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 NorthEast Delhi riotsAdvocate Abdul Gaffar Khan says I cannot speak for Mrhellip pictwittercomV3aBoEzoWxmdash ANI ANI July 31 2026Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court sentenced Hussain along with coconvicts Javed Anas Nazim and Kasim after hearing arguments on the quantum of punishmentWATCH Delhi Karkardooma Court awarded life imprisonment to former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain in the murder case of IB official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riotsAdvocate Tara Narula counsel for Tahir Hussain says The main observation of the court washellip pictwittercomxP2G6a41M2mdash ANI ANI July 31 2026The court held that while the crime was extremely serious and had shocked the conscience of society the prosecution had failed to establish that the convicts were beyond the possibility of reformation It therefore declined Delhi Polices plea for the death penalty and awarded life imprisonmentVIDEO Delhi riots 2020 Karkardooma court sentences former councillor Tahir Hussain four others to life imprisonment for murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma Visuals from courtTahir Hussain says ldquoWe will appeal in High Court We will get justice for surerdquoFull videohellip pictwittercomRMJW1aET1Nmdash Press Trust of India PTI_News July 31 2026The sentencing was pronounced in the physical presence of all five convicts amid tight security at the Karkardooma Court complexEarlier the Delhi Police had sought capital punishment arguing that Sharmas killing was coldblooded and brutal The prosecution submitted that the 51 injuries found on Sharmas body reflected the extreme brutality of the assault and contended that the case fell within the rarest of rare category deserving the death penaltySpecial Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey argued that Sharma was shown no mercy during the attack and urged the court not to extend any leniency to the convictsHowever the defence opposed the plea for capital punishment arguing that the prosecution had failed to prove criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code IPC and urged the court to consider the possibility of Hussains reformationCourt had convicted five earlier this monthEarlier this month the Karkardooma Court convicted Hussain Javed Anas Nazim and Kasim of offences including murder kidnapping rioting and promoting enmity between different groupsIn its judgment the court held Hussain guilty under Sections 302 murder 365 kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person 188 disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant 153A promoting enmity between different groups 147 rioting 148 rioting armed with a deadly weapon and 149 unlawful assembly of the IPCThe court observed that Hussain was part of an unlawful assembly and held that its members were aware that their actions could result in death However all five convicts were acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC while six other accused were acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubtMurder during the 2020 Delhi riotsThe case relates to the killing of IB officer Ankit Sharma whose body was recovered from a drain in Delhis Khajuri Khas area on February 26 2020 during the communal violence that claimed 53 livesAccording to the prosecution Sharma had stepped out near his residence on February 25 2020 when clashes erupted near Chand Bagh Pulia He was allegedly abducted by a mob assaulted repeatedly and stabbed multiple times before his body was dumped in a nearby drainAn FIR was registered at Dayalpur Police Station on a complaint filed by Sharmas father Ravinder Kumar who alleged that his son had gone out to purchase household items but never returnedThe NorthEast Delhi riots of February 2020 left 53 people dead injured several others and caused property damage worth crores of rupeesWith IANS ANI and PTI inputs