Riot Accused Tahir Hussain Surrenders Before Delhi Court; Faces Arrest For IB Staffer's Murder

The AAP leader came under the line of questioning after the body of an Intelligence Bureau staff Ankit Sharma was recovered from a drain last week in northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad.

Hussain had moved an application to surrender before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate. (Image: ANI)

New Delhi: Suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain, who was absconding after being accused for the death of an IB staffer and held responsible for igniting riots in northeast Delhi, has surrendered before the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday. The former AAP councillor is now facing arrest as the court has reportedly rejected his surrender plea. Soon after Hussain reached the court, Delhi Police Crime Branch team arrived and the AAP leader was taken away. However, a formal arrest is yet to be made.

BREAKING | #DelhiViolence : Riot Accused #TahirHussain Surrenders In Rouse Avenue Courthttps://t.co/PQbT45sMtv

— ABP News (@ABPNews) March 5, 2020

Hussain had moved an application to surrender before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja earlier. Crime Branch officers reached the spot even as the hearing was underway. The AAP leader came under the line of questioning after the body of an Intelligence Bureau staff Ankit Sharma was recovered from a drain last week in northeast Delhi's Jaffrabad, one of the worst-hit areas in the violence over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Sharma, 26, who worked as a Security Assistant with the IB, had gone missing soon after the Delhi riots last week. His family has accused Hussain of the murder. Anticipating arrest, Hussain had moved a bail application on Tuesday. WATCH REPORT | Delhi Violence: Tahir Hussain, Accused Of Role In Riots, Surrenders After hearing his application on Wednesday, District and Session Judge Sudhir Kumar Jain directed concerned SIT officer probing the case, to come with the case file and posted the matter for Thursday at 12.30 pm. The police had registered a case against Hussain under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint filed by deceased IB staffer's father. He was also suspended by Delhi's ruling AAP last week for his alleged involvement in the violence and murder. Hussain has, however, denied any involvement in the riots or the murder of the IB staffer. People in the neighbourhood have alleged that the AAP leader played an active role in the riots that engulfed the area ever since the communal riots in northeast Delhi started. Also the house of Hussain, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) municipal councillor from Nehru Vihar, in Chand Bagh still has a number of petrol bomb bottles, acid pouches, and stones scattered on the rooftop and inside. Hussain's house has come under the scanner after a number of videos on social media showed over 100 to 150 people pelting stones, throwing petrol bombs and acid during the violence.