New Delhi [India], July 14 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday issued a clarification in connection with the conviction of former councillor Tahir Hussain in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, stating that he has had no association with the party since he was suspended from its primary membership in February 2020.
In a statement, AAP said Tahir Hussain contested the Delhi Assembly election as an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) candidate from the Muslim-majority Mustafabad constituency, where his candidature split the Muslim vote and ultimately helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate win the seat.
The party further said that within hours of an FIR being registered against Hussain in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case, it suspended him from the party's primary membership on February 27, 2020.
"Since then, he has had no association with AAP," the party said.
The clarification came after the Karkardooma Court on Monday convicted Tahir Hussain and four others in the murder case of IB staffer Ankit Sharma, who was killed during the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots. Sharma's body was recovered from a drain after he went missing during the violence. The case was registered at Dayalpur police station on a complaint filed by his father, Ravinder Kumar.
Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh convicted Hussain, Nazim, Kashim, Javed and Anas of rioting, unlawful assembly and other offences. Hussain was also convicted of promoting enmity between two communities, while the court acquitted the accused of the charge of criminal conspiracy. Six other accused were acquitted of all charges.
In March 2023, the Karkardooma Court had framed charges against Hussain and other accused under various provisions of the IPC, including those related to murder, rioting, promoting enmity between communities and criminal conspiracy.
The case was registered at Dayalpur police station on February 26, 2020, on a complaint by Ankit Sharma's father, Ravinder Kumar, who alleged that Sharma went missing during the violence near Chand Bagh before his body was recovered from a nearby drain. The complaint also alleged violence, including stone-pelting, arson and firing, in the area during clashes between anti-CAA and pro-CAA groups.