2020 Delhi riots: Verdict in IB officer murder case deferred

A Delhi court on Thursday deferred its verdict in the sensational murder case of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma, who was killed during the northeast Delhi riots in 2020, to July 7. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh was hearing the case against 11 accused, including former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.

The case pertains to an FIR registered at Dayalpur police station on the complaint of Ravinder Kumar, father of Ankit Sharma. According to the complaint, Sharma, who was posted with the Intelligence Bureau, had returned home from office on February 25, 2020, before stepping out again. When he did not return for a long time, his family began searching for him, only to be informed by locals that their son had been killed and his body thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh Pulia area.

Sharma’s body was subsequently recovered from the drain. Kumar, in his complaint, accused former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others of murdering his son. He alleged that the accused had assembled at Hussain’s office, and Ankit’s body was disposed of after the murder.

On March 24, 2023, a Delhi court framed charges against Hussain and 10 others, including Haseen alias Mullaji alias Salman, Nazim, Kasim, Sameer Khan, Anas, Firoz, Javed, Gulfam, Shoaib Alam alias Bobby, and Muntajim alias Musa.

They were charged under Indian Penal Code sections related to rioting with weapons, promoting enmity between groups, murder and criminal conspiracy. Hussain was additionally charged with abetment and statements conducive to public mischief.

The case stems from the communal violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020 during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The clashes, marked by incidents of stone-pelting, arson and vandalism, had left 53 people dead and several others injured.