The Delhi Police on Monday told a Delhi Court that it is seeking death penalty for former Aam Aadmi Party Councillor Tahir Hussain and other men in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

The submission was made before Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of Karkardooma Courts, who was hearing arguments on the quantum of sentence for the five convicts.

Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey submitted before the court that Sharma was abducted, assaulted relentlessly and killed by the convicts.

“Ankit Sharma was abducted and relentlessly assaulted before he was killed. A total of 51 wounds were found on his body, 18 of these were inflicted with sharp weapons. The nature of the weapons used shows the intent and diabolical nature of the crime. They fell to the level of being animals. Even after the victim died, they kept on the assault," he said.

He added that it was a cold-blooded murder where “people turned into butchers” and they should be kept behind bars, and be given the maximum punishment, i.e. death sentence.

"The manner of this killing is not to be seen in isolation, but with the 53 people killed in these riots. So, the context also became relevant, the context in which the riots took place," he added.

The counsel representing Hussain said that every convicted person should not be given the death sentence and that aggravating circumstances should be considered first and then the mitigating circumstances.

He contended that the death penalty is only given in rarest of rare cases and in this case, the judgement only mentions the presence of mob at the crime scene, but not about the specific role of the convicts.

"The punishment of death cannot be determined merely on the basis of the injuries sustained. His (Hussain) conduct was good in jail during the custody. The court had recorded the statements of 91 witnesses, after which only five out of the 11 accused were convicted by the court," he said.

Hussain has been convicted for the offences under Section 188, 153A, 147, 148, 149, 365 and 302 of IPC. He has been acquitted for offences under Section 120B and 129 of IPC.

The judge also convicted four other men for the murder of Ankit Sharma, namely Javed, Anas, Nazim and Kasim.

The case pertains to FIR 65 of 2020 registered at Dayalpur police station.

The FIR was registered on the basis of the complaint made by the deceased's father. He had lodged a missing report when his son went missing during the riots. Ankit's body was later recovered from a drain. He was declared as brought dead by GTB hospital.

The complainant's son Ankit Sharma, an Officer working with the Intelligence Bureau, left his house at around 5 pmon the said date for buying groceries and general household items. However, he did not return home even after several hours.

Later, his dead body was found lying in a drain near Chand Bagh Pulia. He had sustained sharp injuries on his head, face, chest, back and on his waist.

Thereafter, an FIR was registered by the complainant stating that he had strong suspicion that his son was killed by the main accused Tahir Hussain and his associates.

The post-mortem report of the deceased Ankit Sharma revealed that there were 51 injuries caused due to sharp edged weapons and blunt force.

In March 2023, the trial court framed charges against Tahir Hussain, Haseen, Nazim, Kasim, Sameer Khan, Anas, Firoz, Javed, Gulfam, Shoaib Alam and Muntajim.

Charges were framed under sections 147, 148, 153A, 302, 365, 120B, 149, 188 and 153A of Indian Penal Code, 1860. Hussain was additionally charged under sections 505, 109 and 114 of IPC. Accused Nazim was additionally charged under section 25 of the Arms Act.