Delhi Riots: Police to file first chargesheet against former AAP neta Tahir Hussain

In a major development in the Delhi riots case, the Delhi Police Crime branch is all set to file chargesheet against suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain on Tuesday. Sources said that 15 people will be named including Tahir Hussian and his brother Shah Alam. The Crime Branch will also file supplementary chargesheet against women students of the group called 'Pinjra Tod' who are accused of inciting violence in the Jafrabad and Daryaganj area.

This is the second chargesheet in the Delhi riots case, the first was filed on May 1, in which Police named Shahrukh Pathan who had allegedly fired on head constable Deepak Dahiya and others on February 24.

Ex- AAP councillor Tahir Hussain's case

Former AAP leader Tahir Hussain was initially been booked under Sections 201 (disappearance of evidence or giving false information), 302 (murder), and 365 (kidnapping) during the communal riots that broke out in Northeast Delhi. On April 22, the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 124 A(sedition) was slapped on him. He also faces charges of involvement in the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma.  After his arrest on March 5, the police sought his custody in multiple cases pertaining to the riots which claimed over 50 lives and left hundreds of people injured. Earlier on May 2, Delhi's Karkardooma court rejected his bail plea in the case related to his alleged involvement in the brutal murder of Ankit Sharma. 

Pinjra Tod case 

As per sources, the chargesheet will also be filed against a woman associated with the 'Pinjra Tod' group, a collective of women students and alumni of colleges from across Delhi. On May 23, Pinjra Tod activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita were arrested for staging a protest outside Jaffrabad metro station prior to the Delhi riots. While they were initially remanded in police custody, now they have been remanded to judicial custody till June 11, with Narwhal slapped with the UAPA. A Delhi court had on Saturday sent a woman from the group to three days' police custody in another case associated with violence in old Delhi's Daryaganj area during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in December last year.

On April 21, the Delhi police also booked two Jamia Millia Islamia students-Meeran Haider, Safoora Zargar, and former JNU student leader Umar Khalid under the provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the riots in Northeast Delhi. While Haider -  president of RJD youth wing's Delhi unit and Zargar - media coordinator of the Jamia Coordination Committee, have been arrested, Khalid has not been arrested as of yet. They were arrested for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to incite the communal riots in Delhi and are presently in judicial custody. 

READ | Daryaganj violence: Delhi court sends Pinjra Tod member to 3 days police custody

The Delhi violence

Clashes began between CAA supporters and anti-CAA groups in Northeast Delhi on February 23, as both camps resorted to stone-pelting after Shaheen Bagh-like protests started in Jaffrabad and Chand Bagh. The situation deteriorated even as Delhi Police was present at the spot as houses, shops, and buses were burnt. While the Home Minister reviewed the situation on February 24  and 35 - while US President Donald Trump visited India, the violence increased killing 53 and injuring over 200, as per official figures.

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Delhi CM Kejriwal has offered monetary, medical and home relief to the injured and deceased, while the police have filed 167 FIRs and have arrested or detained 885 people till date. Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Babarpur, Yamuna Vihar, Bhajanpura, Chand Bagh and Shiv Vihar are among the areas mainly affected by the riots. 

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