Delhi Court Sentences Former AAP Leader to Life Imprisonment for Murder During 2020 Riots

Life Sentence for AAP Leader in 2020 Delhi Riots Case

On Friday, a court in Delhi sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain and four others to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the riots in North-East Delhi in 2020. The Karkardooma Court had found Hussain, Nazim, Qasim, Javed, and Anas guilty of charges including murder and criminal conspiracy on July 13.

During the sentencing hearing, the Delhi Police sought the death penalty for Hussain and the other convicted individuals, arguing that the case fell into the category of 'rarest of the rare.' However, the court opted for life imprisonment instead. Hussain was convicted of spreading enmity during the riots, rioting, assault, using criminal force, criminal conspiracy, and the murder of Ankit Sharma. Following the filing of an FIR against him, AAP suspended Hussain, and the party reiterated that it severed all ties with him after the suspension.

According to the prosecution, Hussain and the other convicted individuals were part of an unlawful mob that kidnapped and murdered Sharma during the communal violence. The case was registered on February 26, 2020, based on a complaint from Sharma's father, Ravinder Kumar. In his complaint, Kumar stated that his son had returned home from work on February 25 and went out around 5 PM to buy household items. When Sharma did not return, the family searched nearby areas and hospitals, eventually filing a missing person report the following morning.