Delhi Riots: Court Rejects Suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain's Bail Plea In IB Staffer's Murder Case

A Delhi court on Monday (13 July) dismissed the bail application of suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor, Tahir Hussain, in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma.

Additional Sessions Judge Vinod Yadav observed, "There is enough material on record to presume that the applicant was present at the spot of crime and was exhorting the rioters of a particular community and as such, he did not use his hands and fists, but rioters as 'human weapons'."

Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma was killed in Chand Bagh area during the northeast Delhi violence on 25 February. His body was recovered from the drain and had 51 sharp and blunt injuries on it.

The court further said that there is a possibility that if Hussain is released on bail at this stage, he may tamper with the evidence or threaten the witnesses.

Hussain, who is in judicial custody since March, had sought bail on the grounds that there is no cogent evidence to connect him to the alleged murder of Sharma.

"Riots in the area of northeast Delhi were carried out in an organised manner and as part of the deep-rooted conspiracy," said the sessions judge while denying bail to Hussain.

Hussain has also been booked under the stringent anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, in a case related to alleged conspiracy in the riots.

Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on 24 February after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)