IB officer Ankit Sharma 'specifically targeted' and killed in Delhi riots, says charge sheet

The death of 26-year-old Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the Delhi riots I February was a ‘specifically targeted killing’ said the police charge sheet filed in court on Wednesday (June 3).

The charge sheet said that the security assistant with IB was stabbed 51 times by a mob led by jailed Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain. Sharma was found dead in a drain with multiple stab wounds on February 25 when violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims rocked north-east Delhi.

When Sharma had gone out in search of his brother during the riots, he was dragged into the office of Tahir Hussain by a mob and killed. His mutilated body was then thrown in the drain, just 200 metres away from his house in Chand Bagh.

Tahir Hussain, Halil Salman, Nazim and Kasim are listed among 10 accused in a 650-page charge sheet. All of the above have been jailed according to the testimony of 96 witnesses in this case.

Police added that there was a ‘deep rooted conspiracy’ behind the riots and that Ankit Sharma was specifically targeted as his post mortem report showed 51 sharp and blunt force injuries.

A video recorded by a witness standing on terrace showed a group of persons dumping Ankit’s body in a drain.

The charge sheet said that Tahir Hussain had gotten his pistol released from the police just days before the riots started. He had also allegedly purchased 100 cartridges out of which only 64 live cartridges were recovered. He was unable to give an explanation for the used cartridges.

The police also recovered bricks, stones and three catapults from his house, the charge sheet said.

The violence that erupted across north-east Delhi following the Citizenship Amendment Act resulted in arson and bloodshed leaving over 50 dead. The Delhi police came under huge attack during this episode for acting as bystanders and not effectively controlling the riot.