The Delhi Police on Monday urged a court to sentence former AAP councillor Thair Hussain along with four others to death in connection with the murder case of IB officer Ankit Sharma amidst the 2020 Delhi riots. The court said, “They fell to the level of being animals.”
Appearing before Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh, during the sentencing hearing, Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey argued that Sharma was abducted, repeatedly assaulted, and murdered in a meticulously planned, cold-blooded attack. Seeking the maximum punishment, he told the court that the convicts had shown “no mercy,” alleging they continued to attack the victim even after his death, underscoring the extreme brutality of the crime.
Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey submitted that Sharma was brutally killed and the convicts showed him no mercy, urging the court not to grant them any leniency.
“Those who are asking for mercy today should have shown mercy themselves. No mercy was shown from anyone’s side. No one even took Ankit to the hospital. They are asking for mercy after committing such a brutal murder,” Pandey said.
“Ankit Sharma was abducted and relentlessly assaulted before he was killed. A total of 51 wounds were found on his body; 18 of those were inflicted with sharp weapons. The nature of the weapons used shows the intent and diabolical nature of the crime. They fell to the level of being animals. Even after the victim died, they continued the assault,” he said.
Asserting that the nature of the crime was heinous, he said, “This was a cold-blooded murder. These people turned into butchers during the crime. There was not even a single cloth except underwear on Sharma’s body. These people should be kept behind bars (and) given the death sentence,” he said.
“The manner of this killing is not to be seen in isolation, but with the 53 people killed in the riots. So, the context also became relevant, the context in which the riots took place,” Pandey said.
Meanwhile, the representatives of Hussain, advocate Rajiv Mohan, said, “Every convicted person should not be given the death sentence. Aggravating circumstances should be considered first and then the mitigating circumstances. Of conviction, out of the 11 accused, six have been acquitted.”
“The punishment of death cannot be determined merely based on the injuries sustained. His (Hussain) conduct was good in jail during custody. The court had recorded the statements of 91 witnesses, after which only five out of the 11 accused were convicted by the court,” he added.
