New Delhi: The Karkardooma Court in Delhi is scheduled to hear arguments on Thursday regarding the quantum of sentence to be awarded to former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four other convicts in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
Earlier this month, on July 13, the court convicted Tahir Hussain and four co-accused on charges including murder, rioting, kidnapping and promoting enmity between different groups.
Following their conviction, Hussain now faces the possibility of either life imprisonment or the death penalty, depending on the court’s decision on sentencing.
After pronouncing the verdict, the court directed both the prosecution and the defence to present their submissions on Thursday, July 23, regarding the appropriate punishment to be imposed on the convicted persons.
According to the prosecution, Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma was killed near his residence in the Khajuri Khas area on February 25, 2020, after he was caught in the violence that had erupted between two groups near the Chand Bagh Pulia (bridge).
The prosecution alleged that Sharma had attempted to pacify the two groups when he was allegedly abducted by a mob comprising around 20 to 25 people. He was then assaulted and stabbed multiple times before his body was allegedly dumped into a nearby drain.
In its judgment, the court held Tahir Hussain guilty of offences including promoting enmity between groups, rioting, assault, use of criminal force and murder.
The case is based on an FIR registered at the Dayalpur police station on the complaint lodged by Ankit Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar. After Hussain’s name came up in the case, the Aam Aadmi Party had suspended him from the party.
The violence that engulfed northeast Delhi in February 2020 claimed the lives of 53 people, left several others injured and caused damage to property worth crores of rupees.
IANS
