IB officer murder case: HC seeks police response on Tahir’s bail plea

The Delhi High Court on Monday asked the Delhi Police to respond to a bail request made by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain who sought a regular bail in a case related to the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued a notice to the police and directed them to file a status report within three weeks. The court will hear the matter again in July.

The plea, filed through advocate Tara Narula, said Hussain has already spent over five years in custody and despite the trial court’s efforts to speed up the proceedings, the case is unlikely to conclude soon.

It also challenged the trial court’s decision from March 12, which rejected Hussain’s bail application. The plea maintained that there is no solid evidence linking him to the crime.

“The accusation against the applicant is merely that of an instigator,” the plea said. “Out of five supposed public witnesses, three have clearly stated that they did not see the applicant at the scene when the incident took place,” it said.

It further claimed that the two other witnesses, described as ‘chance witnesses’, gave statements that contradict each other and are full of changes and inconsistencies.

The defence also questioned the credibility of the police witnesses, saying their testimonies contain serious contradictions. It added that the complainant, Ankit Sharma’s father, had not confirmed the complaint on which the FIR was based, raising doubts about the police’s version of events.

According to the prosecution, Sharma was last seen on February 25, 2020. His father, Ravinder Kumar, reported him missing the next day at the Dayalpur police station. Later, local residents told him that someone had been killed and dumped into the Khajuri Khas drain near the Chand Bagh pulia mosque. Sharma’s body was eventually found in the drain. As per the prosecution, it had 51 injury marks.

Tahir Hussain has been named as one of the key accused in the case. Prosecutors claim that he and four others were part of a violent mob responsible for rioting and arson in which Sharma was killed.

The northeast Delhi riots began on February 24, 2020, after clashes broke out between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The violence escalated quickly, resulting in at least 53 deaths and leaving many others injured.