Delhi violence: Police arrests Tahir Hussain in Ankit Sharma murder case after local court rejects ex-AAP councillor’s plea to surrender

The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested  suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain  in connection with alleged killing of Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma. This was after a court dismissed Hussain’s petition to surrender before a magistrate.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja rejected Hussain’s plea saying that the relief sought by him was outside its jurisdiction.

As the court dismissed Hussain’s plea, a Delhi Police team, which had already arrived, arrested him and took him into custody.

Hussain moved the surrender application before the court saying that he was willing to join the investigation and wanted to surrender in the case.

Advocate Mukesh Kalia, appearing for Hussain, argued before the court that Hussain was facing life threats and was forced to move a surrender plea before the Rouse Avenue court instead of Karkardooma court.

The lawyer said Hussain has been falsely implicated in the case and sought protection for his life and property.

Hussain has been booked in the murder case of the IB staffer in northeast Delhi amid violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) last week.

Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had on 27 February suspended the councillor  for his alleged involvement in the violence which has left at least 42 people dead and around 200 injured.

Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, on whose complaint the FIR was lodged, has named Hussain as an accused. He has alleged that the suspended AAP councillor, whose office is located near Chand Bagh Pulia, had gathered men who were pelting stones and petrol bombs during the violence which led to tension and fear among the residents.

At least 47 people including Ankit Sharma and Police Head Constable Rattan Lal have died while around 200 people sustained serious injuries in the violence that raged for three days in northeast Delhi.

With inputs from PTI