Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was on Monday convicted by a Delhi court for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, bringing one of the most closely watched riot-related criminal trials to a decisive stage after more than six years. The court also found four other accused—Javed, Anas, Nazim and Kasim—guilty in the case, while acquitting six remaining accused for lack of sufficient evidence. The sentencing is expected to be announced next week.
The verdict, delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh at Delhi’s Karkardooma Courts, marks a significant milestone in one of the most disturbing cases that emerged from the communal violence that engulfed parts of northeast Delhi in February 2020. The killing of Ankit Sharma, a young Intelligence Bureau officer, became one of the defining incidents of the riots because of the brutality of the attack and the extensive investigation that followed.
According to the prosecution, Sharma had returned home from work on February 25, 2020, before stepping outside later in the day. When he failed to return, his worried family began searching for him across the locality. Hours later, residents informed the family that he had been attacked by a violent mob. His body was eventually recovered from a drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh Pulia area of Khajuri Khas, ending the family’s desperate search in heartbreaking circumstances.
The post-mortem examination painted a horrifying picture of the assault. Doctors documented 51 sharp and blunt force injuries on Sharma’s body, indicating an exceptionally violent attack. Those medical findings later became one of the key pieces of evidence relied upon by investigators during the trial.
The Delhi Police Crime Branch alleged throughout its investigation that Sharma was not an accidental victim of mob violence but was deliberately targeted during the riots. Investigators maintained that the attack formed part of a larger conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by Tahir Hussain, who at the time served as an elected councillor of the Aam Aadmi Party in the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.
According to the chargesheet, Hussain allegedly played a central role in mobilising and instigating the mob operating in the Chand Bagh area on February 24 and February 25, 2020. Prosecutors argued that the violence was not spontaneous but organised, claiming that Sharma was specifically identified because he was a familiar face in the locality.
The investigation further stated that after Sharma was killed, members of the mob allegedly disposed of his body by throwing it into the nearby drain in an attempt to conceal the crime. Investigators claimed that a witness standing on a nearby rooftop captured a video showing several individuals dumping the body into the drain. That footage later became an important element of the prosecution’s case.
Police also claimed to have recovered physical evidence linking the accused to the crime. According to the chargesheet, officers recovered a blood-stained knife believed to have been used during the attack, along with blood-stained clothes allegedly worn by one of the accused at the time of the incident. Another knife was also seized during the investigation. Separately, police recovered Tahir Hussain’s licensed pistol in another criminal case connected to the violence.
One of the key accused identified in the investigation was Haseen, also known as Salman. Investigators alleged that he played a direct role in the fatal assault on Sharma. During interrogation, police claimed Salman confessed that he became enraged after hearing rumours that a four-year-old Muslim child had been killed by a Hindu during the violence. Acting on that belief, investigators alleged, he armed himself with a knife and joined several others, including Sameer, Kasim, Sabir and additional associates, near Chand Bagh Pulia on February 25.
The prosecution further alleged that Salman admitted stabbing Sharma multiple times while other members of the mob also attacked him using knives and wooden sticks. After the assault, investigators said, the attackers disposed of Sharma’s body by throwing it into the drain to destroy evidence.
Police maintained that during custodial interrogation, Salman led investigators to the recovery of the alleged murder weapon and the clothes he was wearing during the incident. Forensic examination reportedly connected the blood found on those items to the victim, strengthening the prosecution’s case presented before the court.
The chargesheet invoked several serious provisions of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, kidnapping, rioting, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different religious groups and destruction of evidence. Investigators argued that these offences reflected both the organised nature of the violence and the deliberate attempt to conceal the crime after it had been committed.
Initially, ten individuals, including Tahir Hussain, were arrested in connection with the case. However, after evaluating the evidence presented during the lengthy trial, the court convicted Hussain along with Javed, Anas, Nazim and Kasim while acquitting six other accused. The acquittals underline the court’s assessment that criminal liability must rest only on evidence proven beyond reasonable doubt.
The conviction is likely to carry significant political implications as well. Tahir Hussain had been one of the most prominent political figures accused in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots. The case remained under intense public scrutiny because it involved both a serving Intelligence Bureau officer and an elected public representative. Over the years, it became a focal point in wider debates surrounding accountability, communal violence, policing and the administration of justice following the riots.
The 2020 northeast Delhi riots remain among the deadliest episodes of communal violence witnessed in the national capital in recent decades. The clashes resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, left hundreds injured and caused extensive destruction of homes, businesses and religious places. Multiple criminal investigations were launched into incidents arising from the violence, with several cases continuing through the judicial system.
For Ankit Sharma’s family, Monday’s verdict represents an important legal development after years of waiting for the judicial process to conclude. While the conviction establishes the guilt of the five accused in the murder case, the legal proceedings are not yet over. The Karkardooma Court is expected to hear arguments on the quantum of punishment before announcing the sentence next week.
With the conviction now recorded, attention will shift to the sentencing phase, where the court will consider the gravity of the offence, the evidence placed on record and the arguments advanced by both the prosecution and the defence before determining the punishment for those found guilty. The sentencing order is expected to become another significant chapter in one of the most consequential criminal cases arising from the 2020 Delhi riots.