Ex-AAP leader Tahir Hussain gets life imprisonment in IB officer Ankit Sharma murder case

New Delhi: A Delhi court has sentenced all five convicts, including former AAP leader Tahir Hussain, in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma. The Karkardooma Court sentenced Tahir Hussain to life imprisonment. On July 13, the court convicted Hussain, Nazim, Qasim, Anas and Javed of murder, kidnapping, rioting and promoting communal enmity.

‘Killed like an animal’

Six of the 11 accused were acquitted. While pronouncing the sentence, the court observed that Ankit had been “killed like an animal” and that his body was later dumped in a drain. It described the crime as one that had shocked society. The defence sought a reduced sentence, arguing that the convicts’ families were dependent on them.

However, the court rejected the plea. The prosecution had described Hussain’s house as a “launch pad” for the riots, though the court noted that the claim was not connected to the charges in this case. Hussain was sentenced to life imprisonment and fined under various provisions.

Court rejects death penalty

The Delhi Police sought the death penalty for all five convicts, arguing that the case fell within the “rarest of rare” category. The court, however, declined the request, noting that the prosecution had not presented evidence showing that the convicts had a violent disposition or were likely to commit similar offences. It also observed that none of them had any previous criminal involvement.

The court said the convicts could be disciplined and made to follow the rule of law. It added that a death sentence required circumstances beyond participation in an unlawful assembly and the commission of the offence.

The prosecution had described Hussain’s house as a “launch pad” for the riots, though the court noted that the allegation was not connected to the charges in the present case.

All five convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined under various provisions. Sharma was killed during the communal violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020, and his body was subsequently recovered from a nearby drain.