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Special Public Prosecutor for the Delhi Police, Advocate Madhukar Pandey, recounted the alleged brutality inflicted on Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma during the ongoing Delhi riots case, claiming that Sharma acquired 51 injuries on his body. He emphasised that the entire act was meticulously planned by the perpetrators.
The prosecutor further claimed that instead of taking Sharma to a hospital, the perpetrators simply dumped his body into the drain, noting that a cloth was tied around his neck to drag him to the other side of the area. Speaking to reporters, Advocate Madhukar Pandey has sought the death penalty for Tahir Hussain and four others in the IB officer Ankit Sharma's murder case. "Our argument is based on the brutal way the victim was killed. There were 51 injuries on his body, seven of which were fatal... The most shocking aspect is that a heavy sharp-edged weapon was used for one of the injuries. I argued that the entire act was meticulously planned. Here was an unarmed man surrounded by a mob. He was attacked and subjected to a continuous assault... Absolutely no mercy was shown to him... Instead of taking him to a hospital, they simply dumped his body into a drain. I requested the court to treat this as a rarest of the rare case and impose the death sentence... I countered that his role as a public servant and councillor actually heightened his responsibility compared to that of an ordinary citizen... The evidence and witness testimonies reveal that the victim was wearing nothing but his underwear. All his other clothes had been torn off... A cloth was tied around his neck to drag him to the other side of the drain, from where Ankit Sharma was thrown down... Those pleading for leniency before the court ought to have shown some mercy themselves..." said Pandey. Pandey's remarks came after Delhi's Karkardooma Court on July 23 directed the counsel for Tahir Hussain and four other accused persons to file affidavits detailing their socio-economic status. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Praveen Singh directed advocate Rajiv Mohan and other counsels to consult their clients and file the affidavits on the same day. Advocate Rajiv Mohan, appearing for Tahir Hussain, requested the court to schedule a date for arguments on the sentence. Later, the court deferred arguments on the sentence till July 27 following a request from Tahir Hussain's counsel. Earlier, the Delhi Court convicted Tahir Hussain and the other accused on July 13. The court convicted Tahir Hussain under Section 188 IPC (disobedience of an order promulgated by a public servant), Section 153A read with Section 149 IPC (promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds and unlawful assembly), Section 147 read with Section 149 IPC (rioting and unlawful assembly), Section 148 read with Section 149 IPC (rioting with a deadly weapon and unlawful assembly), Section 365 read with Section 149 IPC (kidnapping and unlawful assembly), and Section 302 read with Section 149 IPC (murder and unlawful assembly). Ankit Sharma was murdered during the North East Delhi riots in February 2020, and his body was later recovered from a drain. (ANI)
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