Former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.
The Delhi police on Monday sought the death penalty for former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others convicted in the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during 2020 riots. The police submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma Courts that the “cold-blooded” killing, marked by 51 injuries on the victim’s body, qualified as a “rarest of rare” case warranting capital punishment.
Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey argued that the crime was exceptionally brutal and warranted the maximum punishment. The court was informed that among the 51 injuries, 18 were caused by sharp-edged weapons which, the prosecution said, reflected the intent and severity of the attack.
“The assault continued even after the victim had died… It was a cold-blooded killing,” the prosecution said, urging the court to consider it a “rarest of the rare case’’.
The court reserved its order for July 31 after hearing arguments from both prosecution and defence counsels of all five convicts.
The counsel appearing for Mr. Hussain opposed the plea for capital punishment and submitted that the trial court’s judgment established the presence of a mob at the scene but did not attribute a specific role to each convict sufficient to justify the death penalty.
The case relates to an FIR registered at Dayalpur police station on the complaint of Sharma’s father, who reported him missing after he failed to return home from a trip to buy groceries during the riots. Sharma’s body was later recovered from a drain near Chand Bagh Pulia and he was declared brought dead at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. In his complaint, he named Mr. Huissain and others.
During the course of the hearing, which lasted for over six years, the prosecution examined 91 witnesses during the trial and relied on eyewitness accounts, forensic evidence and call detail records to establish its case.
In March 2023, the trial court framed charges against 11 accused, including Hussain for rioting, murder, abduction, criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity.
Five of them were convicted on July 14, 2026.
Those convicted with Mr. Hussain are Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas.
Published – July 28, 2026 12:42 am IST
