New Delhi, July 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The family of Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma has expressed disappointment over a Delhi court sentencing former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain to life imprisonment for Sharma’s murder during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, saying the case warranted the death penalty.
Reacting to the verdict, Ankit Sharma’s brother, Ankur Sharma, said the family respected the court’s decision but believed the crime fell within the “rarest of rare” category deserving capital punishment.
He said the family would continue to pursue the matter if the case reaches the Delhi High Court or the Supreme Court, maintaining that the guilty should receive the harshest punishment under the law. He also appealed to political parties to support the demand for the death penalty in higher courts.
The Karkardooma Court, while sentencing Hussain to life imprisonment, described the killing as brutal and observed that Ankit Sharma’s body was dragged into a nearby drain after the attack.
The court noted that although the offence leaned towards the “rarest of rare” category, the legal threshold for awarding the death sentence had not been met. It cited the absence of conclusive evidence establishing an individual role in the fatal assault and observed that the possibility of the convict’s reform could not be ruled out.
According to the prosecution, Sharma was attacked by a mob on February 25, 2020, while attempting to calm tensions during the northeast Delhi riots. He was allegedly assaulted with knives, iron rods, sticks and stones. His body, bearing 51 stab wounds, was recovered from a drain the following day.
Hussain’s counsel argued during the trial that his client was present at the location but was not directly involved in the killing.
Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra welcomed the conviction but expressed hope that a higher court would enhance the sentence from life imprisonment to the death penalty.
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