India, July 14 -- Delhi Law Minister Kapil Mishra on Tuesday slammed the AAP's senior leaders for their silence over former councillor Tahir Hussain's conviction in connection with the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. Addressing a press conference, Mishra said, "Why are Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh silent after the conviction? Why have they not come forward and said anything on the matter?" The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) issued a statement on Monday clarifying that Hussain has no association with the party since he was suspended from its primary membership in 2020 after an FIR was registered against him in connection with the northeast Delhi riots case. Mishra questioned why the then Delhi government and its leaders did not speak out during the riots against Sharma's killing or visit the victims. A Delhi court on Monday convicted former AAP councillors Hussain and four others for the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma during the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots. Also Read - Kejriwal writes to PM, seeks meeting over E20 petrol; demands pure petrol option at fuel stations Referring to the conviction, Mishra said the court's decision had established Hussain's role in the murder and alleged that the matter raised questions about those who had earlier supported or defended him. He also questioned AAP leaders over their statements at the time of the riots, alleging that they had not shown concern for the victims. "AAP leaders were providing relief camps in other community areas at the time of the riot, and now they are presenting themselves as followers of Sanatan traditions," he added. Mishra also alleged that the 2020 riots involved a larger conspiracy and said that while the court had delivered its verdict in Sharma's murder case, other aspects of the matter would be decided through legal proceedings. Sharma, who was posted with the Intelligence Bureau, returned home from office on February 25, 2020, before stepping out again. When he did not return, his family started searching for him and later learned that he had been killed. His body was recovered from the Khajuri Khas drain near a mosque in the Chand Bagh pulia area. The incident occurred during the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020 amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The riots claimed 53 lives and left several people injured.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.