Tahir Hussain held for murder of IB staffer as court rejects surrender plea
Delhi Police on Thursday arrested suspended AAP leader Tahir Hussain, an accused in murder of an Intelligence Bureau employee during the recent riots in Delhi, after a court in the national capital rejected his surrender plea. The body of 26-year-old Ankit Sharma, the IB employee, was fished out of a drain on February 26.
Delhi Police on Thursday (March 5) arrested suspended AAP leader Tahir Hussain, an accused in the murder of an Intelligence Bureau employee during the recent riots in Delhi, after a court in the national capital rejected his surrender plea.
Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja rejected Hussain’s plea saying the relief sought by him was outside its jurisdiction. As the court dismissed Hussain’s plea, a Delhi Police team, which had already arrived, arrested him and took him into custody.
Hussain moved the surrender application before the court saying that he was willing to join the investigation and wanted to surrender in the case.
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Advocate Mukesh Kalia, appearing for Hussain, argued before the court that Hussain was facing life threats and was forced to move a surrender plea before the Rouse Avenue court instead of Karkardooma court. The lawyer said Hussain has been falsely implicated in the case and sought protection for his life and property.
The body of 26-year-old Ankit Sharma, the IB employee, was fished out of a drain near his house in northeast Delhi on February 26, with multiple stab wounds. Sharma, who worked as a security assistant in IB, had gone missing a day earlier when violence had erupted in the area.
Ravinder Sharma, the father of the deceased, had accused Hussain of instigating the mob which he claimed killed his son.
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BJP leader Kapil Mishra too made a similar allegation, and tweeted a video where he claimed Hussain was purportedly seen with masked men carrying sticks and petrol bombs. Mishra claimed Hussain was constantly talking Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders.
Subsequently, Hussain was charged with murder and arson. He was also suspended from the primary membership of Aam Aadmi Party.
However, Hussain had denied his involvement in the murder of Ankit Sharma, and claimed he had shifted to a safe place in presence of police on February 24, a day before Sharma went missing.
At least 47 people were killed and over 200 injured during the communal riots in the national capital last week.
(With inputs from agencies)
