New Delhi, July 14 -- : A Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain of murdering Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, holding him guilty of murder, promoting enmity between different religious groups and rioting with a deadly weapon in one of the most high-profile cases arising from the communal violence. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma court acquitted Hussain of charges of criminal conspiracy, abetment and kidnapping under Sections 120B, 109 and 365 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court also convicted four others -- Nazim, Kasim, Javed and Anas -- of the same offences except murder, while acquitting six accused of all charges. Javed and Anas, who were out on bail, were taken into judicial custody. A detailed judgment is awaited. The court is yet to fix a date for arguments on sentencing. Hussain, who was present in court, broke down as the verdict was pronounced. While leaving the courtroom, he said, "I will remain innocent." The acquitted accused are Haseen alias Mullaji, Firoz, Gulfam, Soyab, Sameer Khan and Muntajim alias Musa. Sharma's murder was among the most prominent cases linked to the Northeast Delhi riots between February 23 and 26, 2020, in which 53 people were killed and more than 500 injured. A security assistant with the Intelligence Bureau, Sharma lived with his parents in Khajuri Khas. On February 25, 2020, he left home around 5pm to buy groceries. According to the prosecution, Sharma reached the Chand Bagh Pulia area, where clashes were underway between two groups. The chargesheet alleged that he tried to pacify people from both sides before being identified, overpowered by a mob of 20-25 people, kidnapped, assaulted and repeatedly stabbed. His body was recovered the next day from the Khajuri Khas drain. During the two-year trial, the prosecution examined 90 witnesses. Five of them -- three passersby and two police personnel -- identified Hussain as being present at the scene. The chargesheet alleged that Sharma was taken to a location near Chand Bagh Pulia and attacked with knives, rods, sticks and other weapons. According to the postmortem report, Sharma suffered 51 sharp and blunt force injuries. The cause of death was haemorrhagic shock resulting from multiple ante-mortem injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons. His family, including his father and complainant Ravinder Kumar, searched for him through the violence before neighbours informed them that he had been attacked by a mob. His body was recovered on February 26, following which an FIR was registered at Dayalpur police station under IPC provisions relating to murder, kidnapping, rioting, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between groups, unlawful assembly and other offences. The investigation was later transferred from the local police to the Crime Branch. Hussain surrendered before a Delhi court on March 11, 2020, and was arrested after being named by co-accused. The prosecution named 10 other people as members of the mob allegedly involved in Sharma's killing. The chargesheet, filed on July 2, alleged that the murder formed part of a larger criminal conspiracy behind the riots. Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra welcomed the verdict, reiterating the BJP's allegation that AAP had a "strong bond with several anti-national activists" and citing Tahir Hussain as an example. He demanded that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal apologise for "patronising" Hussain and others. The AAP sought to distance itself from Hussain, saying he had contested the 2025 Delhi Assembly election as an AIMIM candidate. It added that he had been suspended within hours of an FIR being registered in the 2020 Delhi riots case and had no association with the party since then....