Delhi court sentences five to life for 2020 IB murder

A Delhi court on Friday, July 31, 2026, sentenced former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain and four other men to life imprisonment for the murder of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots. The sentencing by Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh at the Karkardooma court followed the conviction of Hussain, Nazim, Qasim, Javed, and Anas on July 13.

While pronouncing the sentence, the court described the crime as a "very serious incident" that had shaken the conscience of society. It noted the murder was committed with "utmost brutality" during the communal riots in northeast Delhi and was carried out solely on the basis of the victim's religion. The judge remarked that Sharma's body was dragged "like that of an animal" before being discarded in a drain, calling the barbarity "nauseating and sickening."

Despite these strong observations, the court declined the prosecution's request for the death penalty. The Delhi police had argued the case fell into the "rarest of rare" category, citing the cold-blooded nature of the killing and the 51 injuries found on Sharma's body. However, the judge held that the prosecution failed to demonstrate the...