A Delhi court on Friday sentenced former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain and four other convicts to life imprisonment in connection with the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma. Sharma was killed during Delhi riots in 2020. The court described the crime as a “very serious incident” and announced life imprisonment for Tahir Hussain, Nazim, Qasim, Javed, Anas, and others who were convicted.
“Ankit Sharma was abducted and relentlessly assaulted before he was killed. A total of 51 wounds were found on his body; 18 of these 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 kept on the assault,” the court said, as reported by Live Law.
The court, as per the Live Law, observed that the crime was committed amidst the northeast riots and was done only on account of religion. “The manner in which the crime was committed was of utmost brutality, done solely on the ground of religion,” the court said.
On July 14, the court convicted Hussain and four others for the offense punishable under sections 302 (murder) and section 147 (rioting) of IPC. Talking about the body of Sharma, the court said it was dragged “like that of an animal.” The barbarity committed is nauseating and sickening,” the court said.
However, despite these observations, the court declined the Delhi Police’s plea for the death penalty. The prosecution had sought capital punishment for all five convicts, arguing that the case fell under the “rarest of rare” category. The court, however, rejected the plea and sentenced the convicts to life imprisonment.
The court said that there is no legal bar on awarding the death penalty; however, a sentence of death requires circumstances beyond
It further said that while there is no legal bar on awarding the death penalty, a sentence of death requires circumstances beyond just being part of an unlawful assembly and committing the offense.
The FIR was registered following the complaint made by Ankit Sharma’s father. He lodged a missing report when Ankit was not traceable during the riots. Later his body was recovered from a drain; however, he was declared dead by GTB Hospital.
