New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four other convicts to life imprisonment in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
The sentence was pronounced by the Karkardooma Court, which held Tahir Hussain and the four co-convicts guilty in the case relating to the killing of the 26-year-old Intelligence Bureau officer during the communal violence that erupted in North-East Delhi in February 2020.
Following the sentencing, security was tightened in and around the court premises as the convicts were produced before the court.
Reacting to the verdict, Tahir Hussain said he would challenge the judgment before the Delhi High Court.
“We will appeal in the High Court. We will get justice for sure,” Tahir Hussain told reporters after the court pronounced the sentence.
The case pertains to the death of Ankit Sharma, whose body was recovered from a drain near Chand Bagh on February 26, 2020, during the North-East Delhi riots. The prosecution alleged that Sharma was assaulted and murdered by a mob, while the investigation identified Tahir Hussain and others as being involved in the conspiracy and execution of the crime.
With the sentencing order, the trial court imposed life imprisonment on Tahir Hussain and the four other convicts, bringing a significant development in one of the most prominent criminal cases arising out of the 2020 Delhi riots.
The convicts retain the legal right to challenge the trial court’s judgment before the Delhi High Court.