New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party corporator from Nehru Vihar in Mustafabad, Tahir Hussain, on Wednesday denied any role in the killing of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma, whose body was found in a drain close to his house in Chand Bagh the same morning.
Ankit’s father, Ravinder Sharma, who works for the Delhi police, had accused the councillor of foul play in his son’s death.
Ankit, who was a security assistant in the IB and was undergoing training as a driver, was missing since Tuesday evening. His body was found in the drain the following day. He had joined the IB as a probationer in 2017.
His father told the media that his son was returning from work when around 15-20 people “came from Tahir’s building and took him along with a few others”. He further charged that “when others went to free them, they were fired upon and attacked with petrol bombs. Acid was also thrown on them.”
Meanwhile, several Bharatiya Janata Party leaders including its national spokesperson Amit Malviya, South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri, Delhi spokesperson Harish Khurana, and former Karawal Nagar MLA Kapil Mishra, tweeted or retweeted videos of a building they claimed belonged to Hussain saying it was being used to attack citizens.
ये वीडियो पूरा देखिये
मैरून हॉफ स्वेटर में हैं AAP का निगम पार्षद ताहिर हुसैन
हाथ में लाठी, छत में नकाब लगाए लड़के
इसी छत से पथराव हुआ, पेट्रोल बम फेंके गए, गोलियां चली
IB अधिकारी अंकित शर्मा के परिवार के मुताबिक इन्ही लड़को ने हत्या की
ये लगातार केजरीवाल से बात कर रहा था pic.twitter.com/z54edjnEmO
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) February 26, 2020
It was upon Mishra’s call to the local residents, and his “ultimatum” to the police, that violence had erupted in North East Delhi.
Hussain told a news channel that he had no role in the killing of the IB officer. “I swear by my children I had no role in it. I am not that kind of a person,” he said.
Hussain also claimed that he had himself fled his building with his family and taken refuge at a relative’s house after a mob had taken control of his building. He said he was rescued from the place two days ago by the police.
As the BJP also accused AAP of being supportive of those indulging in violence, some AAP leaders also backed Hussain’s claim and said that their corporator was himself trapped in his building for over eight hours.
Hussain also released a video later on Wednesday in which he claims to have been a victim of mob violence himself and that he was rescued by the police two days ago. He claimed that a mob had taken over his house, using it to launch attacks, and that he has not returned home since.
He had also tweeted an SOS to the Delhi police on Tuesday, saying his house had been surrounded.
@DCPNEastDelhi महोदय ..
में आप पार्षद ताहिर हुसैन का मकान चांद बाग़ की पुलियाँ खजूरी खास से फोर्स हट जाने के बाद उपद्रवियों ने आज फिर से घेर लिया है ,आपसे अनुरोध है जल्द से जल्द व्यवस्था बनाये।@KhanAmanatullah @SanjayAzadSln @AapKaGopalRai @dilipkpandey @DilliAajtaktv
— Haji Tahir Hussain (@tahirhussainaap) February 25, 2020
Social media and IT strategist of AAP, Ankit Lal, tweeted that Hussain had been rescued by Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East district, Ved Prakash Surya, on February 24 after a mob attacked his home. He insisted that Hussain was thus himself a victim of the riots.
#AAP councillor Tahir Hussain was rescued by @DCPNEastDelhi Ved Prakash Surya on 24th February after a mob attacked his home.
Here’s what Tahir has to say.
Do listen and out this as a slap on every BJP thug trying to blame someone who is himself a victim of the riots.
1/n pic.twitter.com/1h80x2M2NM
— Ankit Lal (@AnkitLal) February 26, 2020