TAHIR HUSSAIN ARRESTED, TOLL IN DELHI RIOTS INCREASES TO 53
NEWDELHI: Suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain was arrested from a court in the national capital where he came to surrender on Thursday in connection with the murder of an Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer during last week’s communal violence in north-east Delhi. Hussain has been booked for the murder of IB’s Ankit Sharma, whose body was recovered from a drain in Chand Bagh on February 26. He denies the charges against him.
On Thursday, Hussain, who was on the run, was taken into custody after the Rouse Avenue court dismissed his plea and said the case falls under the jurisdiction of the Karkardooma court.
Hussain’s anticipatory bail application was moved in Karkardooma court on Wednesday. The court rejected it on Thursday, observing that nobody appeared from his side.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain from a Delhi court where he had come to surrender, ending an eight-day-long search launched after he was booked for murder and abduction of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma in Chand Bagh during communal riots in northeast Delhi last week.
The special investigation teams (SITs) probing the riots cases took Hussain into custody after the Rouse Avenue court dismissed his plea, seeking to surrender before it by saying that the relief sought by him was outside the court’s jurisdiction. The court said that as per the provisions of Criminal Procedure Code, the offence shall ordinarily be inquired into and tried by court within whose local jurisdiction it is committed.
“In the instant case, the offence has been committed within the jurisdiction of PS Dayalpur, which falls within the jurisdiction of Karkardooma Court,” the judge said. The Karkardooma Court, where Hussain’s anticipatory bail application was moved on Wednesday, also rejected the request on Thursday, observing that nobody had appeared from his side. The court had on Wednesday issued notice to the police on the bail plea and fixed the hearing on Thursday.
Before being caught, Hussain had given an interview to India Today in which he claimed to be “innocent” and alleged that he was being framed as part of “some conspiracy”. Hussain said he was ready to undergo a “narco-analysis (test)” and cooperate the police in their probe. He said he has faith in police and the judiciary and that the police would do a “fair investigation”.
The police officials took Hussain to the crime branch’s office in Sunlight Colony where he is being interrogated in connection with IB officer’s murder case and two more cases of alleged firing, pelting of stones and petrol bombs from his Chand Bagh house on February 24 and 25. A man named Ajay Goswami, the complainant in the attempt to murder case, had sustained a bullet injury in his back during the firing. An officer associated with the SITs said Hussain’s interrogation will be videographed. “Investigators will confront him with the videos of violence from his house and the presence of petrol bombs, empty bottles, sticks and other incriminating materials that were recovered by the police and forensic team,” the officer said.
Special commissioner of police (crime and intelligence) Praveer Ranjan said Hussain will be produced in the city court on Friday.
On Thursday afternoon, Advocate Mukesh Kalia, appearing for Hussain, submitted that there is a grave apprehension of threat to his life and therefore he has not surrendered before competent court as there is “charged environment” in Karkardooma District court. He said Hussain has no connection or involvement in the FIR registered by the police and he is being falsely implicated.
Considering the gravity of the situation, Hussain wishes to surrender before the court, he said.
The court said the Delhi High Court has specifically made a division of the jurisdictions, be that of the police stations or the courts district-wise and work has been allocated accordingly.
It said: “This court is a special designated court dealing with the matters of MPs/MLAs. The high court has designated this court as special court to deal with cases on fast track with endeavour to dispose of the same within one year as its objective. “The applicant does not fall in the aforesaid category, hence this application cannot be even entertained by this court.” As the court dismissed Hussain’s plea, a Delhi Police team, arrested him.