Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain was suspended from the primary membership of his party on Thursday evening, after he was charged with murder and arson in connection with the death of Ankit Sharma, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) employee found dead in one of the areas in northeast Delhi most affected by violence over citizenship law protests.
Mr Hussain will remain suspended until the charges against him are investigated and he is cleared, a tweet by Delhi’s ruling AAP added.
Ankit Sharma, whose body was found in a drain near his home in Jafrabad, was allegedly attacked by a mob and stabbed to death on his way home on Tuesday. The post-mortem report, released on Thursday, indicated multiple stab wounds across his body.
After the body was found on Wednesday, his father Ravinder Sharma, who is also an IB employee, alleged supporters of Mr Hussain had killed his son. He further alleged his son had been shot after he was beaten.
Allegations Mr Hussain was involved in the death of Ankit Sharma were also made today by BJP leader Kapil Mishra, whose pro-citizenship law rally in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur has been linked to the violence that has scarred the national capital since.
“The killer is Hussain. In the video, he can be seen with the masked boys carrying sticks, stones, bullets and petrol bombs. He was constantly talking to Kejriwal and AAP leaders,” Mr Mishra. Videos shared show a man believed to be Mr Hussain on the roof of a building near Ankit Sharma’s residence with some men who appear to be involved in stone-throwing. There are allegations petrol bombs were thrown from the roof
In the videos, thick smoke rises from below the same building, suggesting Mr Hussain’s house too may have been under attack.
