Tahir Hussain Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Role in Delhi Riots

Life Sentence for Tahir Hussain in Delhi Riots Case

Following the defeat of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate in the minority-dominated Mustafabad assembly seat, Tahir Hussain was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday for his involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots. A city court found him and four co-defendants guilty of murdering Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the riots, stating that the case did not qualify for the death penalty.

At the time of the riots in February 2020, Hussain was serving as an AAP councillor from the Nehru Vihar ward. The violence, sparked by protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), resulted in the deaths of 53 individuals and left hundreds injured. Shortly after his name surfaced in connection with Sharma's murder, particularly in the Chand Bagh area, AAP expelled Hussain from the party.

Hussain faced significant backlash after a video surfaced showing a crowd on the roof of his house during the riots. Sharma's body was discovered in a drain near his residence, with allegations that Hussain's home was used to store stones, petrol bombs, and other weapons.

The Delhi Police named Hussain in several criminal cases related to the riots, leading to his arrest in March 2020. Earlier this month, the court convicted him along with four other co-defendants for Sharma's murder, stating that Hussain was part of an unlawful assembly involved in rioting, arson, and looting during the 2020 unrest.

The court described Sharma's murder as particularly brutal. Despite being incarcerated, Hussain joined the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and contested the February 2025 assembly elections from the Mustafabad constituency, which was heavily affected by the riots.

In the elections, Hussain received over 33,000 votes, while BJP candidate Mohan Singh Bisht defeated AAP's Adil Ahmed Khan by a margin of more than 17,000 votes.

Hussain was granted a six-day parole for election campaigning. Before entering politics, he was a businessman residing in the northeastern Delhi area. Despite his sentencing, Hussain's political significance appears to remain intact.

The BJP has criticized AAP, referencing Hussain's past affiliations and demanding an apology from party leader Arvind Kejriwal.