The Delhi High Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the police regarding a bail plea filed by former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain.
The plea pertains to Hussain’s involvement in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the northeast Delhi riots in February 2020.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta sought the police’s response on Hussain’s challenge to a trial court’s December 3 decision, which had rejected his bail application citing no significant change in circumstances.
Hussain’s plea, filed through advocate Tara Narula, highlights that he has been in jail for nearly four years and nine months. It also notes that the trial has commenced, with 20 out of 114 prosecution witnesses examined so far.
The plea argues that the prolonged incarceration and the large number of remaining witnesses make the trial’s conclusion unlikely anytime soon.
Additionally, Hussain’s petition points out that co-accused individuals allegedly involved in the same mob and charged with similar offences have already been granted bail by the High Court.
According to the prosecution, Ankit Sharma was reported missing by his father, Ravinder Kumar, on February 25, 2020. Kumar informed the Dayalpur police station that locals had seen a body being thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain near Chand Bagh pulia after being murdered. Sharma’s body, recovered the following day, bore 51 injury marks.
Hussain is one of the accused in the case, alongside four others alleged to have been part of the violent mob involved in rioting and arson that led to Sharma’s death.
The riots, which began on February 24, 2020, following clashes between supporters and opponents of the citizenship law, resulted in the deaths of at least 53 people and left many injured.
The court will now examine Hussain’s plea in light of these arguments, as the case continues to draw attention to the broader communal violence that rocked northeast Delhi in 2020.
Read More: Rahul Gandhi, Kharge Call Out NHRC Chairman Appointment For Procedural Issues
