New Delhi, 10 June (H.S.): : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Delhi Police while hearing the bail plea of Tahir Hussain, who is accused of conspiring in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.

A vacation bench headed by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed the Delhi Police to file its response and scheduled the next hearing in the matter for July 16.

Earlier, on June 1, Justice Amit Sharma had recused himself from hearing Hussain’s bail petition. The plea challenges a January 29 order of the Karkardooma Court, which had rejected Hussain’s request for bail.

Tahir Hussain has been accused of playing a role in the conspiracy behind the communal violence that erupted in Northeast Delhi in February 2020. He is also an accused in the murder case of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma.

According to the prosecution, on February 26, 2020, Ankit Sharma’s father, Ravinder Kumar, lodged a missing person complaint at Dayalpur Police Station after his son could not be traced. Subsequently, local residents informed the family that a young man had been killed and his body thrown into the Khajuri Khas drain. Sharma’s body was later recovered from the same drain.

Apart from the riots conspiracy case, Hussain is also facing proceedings under anti-money laundering laws in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots. In that case, co-accused Amit Gupta has turned an approver and is assisting the investigation as a prosecution witness.

The violence that broke out in Northeast Delhi in February 2020 claimed 53 lives and left nearly 200 people injured, making it one of the deadliest episodes of civil unrest in the national capital in recent years.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar