Delhi court set to deliver verdict in IB officer murder case

A Delhi court will deliver its verdict on Thursday in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma, who was killed during the communal riots in northeast Delhi in February 2020. The judgment from Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh at the Karkardooma Court concerns eleven accused individuals, including former municipal councillor Tahir Hussain.

Sharma, an officer with the Intelligence Bureau, was reported missing on February 25, 2020, after he left his home in the evening. His family began searching for him when he did not return. According to the First Information Report lodged by his father, Ravinder Kumar, local residents later informed the family that Sharma had been killed and his body thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh Pulia area. His body was subsequently recovered from the drain. The complaint alleged that Sharma was murdered by Tahir Hussain and others who had assembled at Hussain's office.

The court formally framed charges against Hussain and ten other men in March 2023. The charges include murder, criminal conspiracy, rioting, rioting armed with deadly weapons, and promoting enmity between different groups. Hussain...