Delhi court reserves sentencing order for Tahir Hussain, others in Ankit Sharma murder case

A Delhi court has reserved until July 31 its order on sentencing former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and four others convicted in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence

New Delhi:A Delhi court on Monday reserved its order on the quantum of sentence to be imposed on former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others convicted in the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Court said it would pronounce the order on July 31 after hearing detailed submissions from the prosecution and the defence on the question of sentence.

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Seeking the maximum punishment, Delhi Police urged the court to award the death penalty, describing Sharma’s killing as a “cold-blooded” and “brutal” murder, arguing that the 51 injuries found on his body reflected the extreme brutality of the assault.

The prosecution argued that those now seeking mercy had shown none to the victim, claiming that no one attempted to take Sharma to a hospital after the assault. “Those who want mercy should also show mercy. They have no evidence to show that any mercy was shown by any person to carry this person to a hospital,” the Delhi Police counsel submitted before the court.

It was also contended that every member of a violent mob is responsible for the crimes committed by that unlawful assembly and argued that Hussain, instead of being part of the mob, should have tried to save Sharma.

Opposing the prosecution’s plea for capital punishment, counsel for Hussain and the other convicts — Nazir, Asim, Javed and Anas — argued that the present case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death sentence.

The defence submitted that after examination of 91 witnesses, the court convicted only five of the 11 accused and acquitted the remaining persons, indicating that the prosecution case had not been accepted in its entirety.

It was further argued that no evidence of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was established during the trial and that several alleged members of the attacking mob had been acquitted.

The defence contended that although Hussain’s presence in the area had been established, he was not present at the exact spot where Sharma was killed, and there was no evidence linking him to any conspiracy to murder the IB officer. It also submitted that the number of injuries sustained by the deceased alone could not be the basis for awarding the death penalty and urged the court to consider the possibility of Hussain’s reformation, adding that he had himself called the police during the violence.

After hearing the submissions, the Karkardooma Court reserved its verdict on sentencing till July 31.

Earlier this month, the court convicted Hussain, Javed, Anas, Nazim and Kasim in the murder case after holding them guilty of offences including murder, kidnapping, rioting and promoting enmity between different groups.

In its detailed judgment, the court held Hussain guilty under Sections 302 (murder), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent to secretly and wrongfully confine a person), 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon) and 149 of the IPC.

The four co-convicts were also held guilty of the same offences, while all five were acquitted of the charge of criminal conspiracy under Section 120B of the IPC.

The court had also acquitted six other accused, holding that the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The case relates to the killing of IB officer Ankit Sharma, whose body was recovered from a drain in the Khajuri Khas area on February 26, 2020, during the communal violence that rocked North-East Delhi.

According to the prosecution, Sharma was caught in the violence near his residence on February 25, 2020, when clashes broke out between two groups near the Chand Bagh Pulia. It was alleged that he was abducted by a mob, assaulted and stabbed multiple times before his body was dumped into a nearby drain.

An FIR was registered at the Dayalpur police station on the complaint of Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, who alleged that his son had gone out to purchase household items but never returned.

The violence that rocked North-East Delhi in February 2020 claimed 53 lives, left several others injured and caused damage to property worth crores of rupees.