Delhi riots 2020: Tahir Hussain's journey from politics to life imprisonment

A year after he paved the way for the defeat of the AAP candidate and the victory of the BJP from the minority voter dominated Mustafabad Assembly seat, Tahir Hussain was on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.

A city court sentenced him and four co-convicts to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the riots, saying the case did not fall within the "rarest of rare" category warranting the death penalty.

"Insaaf High Court se milega (Justice will come from the High Court)," Hussain exuded hope while being escorted out of a Delhi court after he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Hussain, 48, was an AAP councillor from Nehru Vihar ward in northeast Delhi when riots erupted in the area amid anti-CAA protests in February 2020, claiming over 50 lives and rendering hundreds injured.

He was expelled from the AAP, days after his name figured in connection with the riots, more specifically in the killing of IB officer Ankit Sharma in Chand Bagh area.

As the videos of a mob atop Hussain's house during the riots went viral, Hussain gained immense notoriety, which was further aggravated after Sharma's body was fished out of a drain near his residence.

It was alleged that his house and rooftop were used to stock stones, petrol bombs and other weapons hurled at people during clashes in the area. The Delhi Police named Hussain in multiple criminal cases linked to the riots, and he was arrested in March 2020.

Earlier this month, Hussain was convicted by the court, along with the four co-accused, for Sharma's murder. It was said that he was part of a heavily armed unlawful assembly involved in rioting, arson and loot during the 2020 riots and that Sharma was murdered in a "savage and relentless assault."

Hussain, in December 2024, joined All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), while being in jail, ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.

As an AIMIM candidate, he contested the February 2025 Assembly polls from Mustafabad constituency in northeast Delhi — the worst-hit area during the riots. Pitted against BJP and AAP candidates, Hussain got over 33,000 votes.

BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht won the elections, defeating AAP's Adeel Ahmad Khan, by a margin of over 17,000 votes.

Hussain, following his brush with elections when he was granted six days for parole for campaigning, soon fell on hard times, returning to jail after the defeat.

Before entering politics, he was involved in business and lived in the northeast Delhi area.

The political relevance of Hussain did not dim even after his sentencing, as the BJP, citing his name, slammed the AAP for its past connection with the convict, seeking an apology from party supremo Arvind Kejriwal.