Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Harsh Malhotra on Monday, 13 July welcomed the conviction of former Aam Aadmi Party municipal councillor Tahir Hussain for the premeditated murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) official Ankit Sharma during the 2020 Delhi riots in North East Delhi. The verdict, Malhotra said, vindicates the BJP's long-standing charge that AAP harboured individuals with alleged anti-national links.

BJP's Charges Against AAP

Malhotra alleged that the AAP has maintained deep ties with several individuals accused in the 2020 Delhi riots, a charge the party has raised repeatedly over the past five years. He pointed to Khalid Saifi — another accused in the riots — as someone who reportedly worked with Team Arvind Kejriwal during the India Against Corruption movement. Malhotra also alleged that the then Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government had gone soft on cases against Umar Khalid, another riots accused, until the Delhi High Court intervened in 2023.

Additionally, Malhotra named Amanatullah Khan, MLA from Okhla, alleging that he had repeatedly incited mobs between 2015 and 2024, particularly during anti-CAA protests in Okhla. These are allegations that Khan and AAP have previously denied.

Demand for Public Apology

'Today, after Tahir Hussain's conviction for young IB official Shri Ankit Sharma's murder, Delhi BJP demands public apology from Arvind Kejriwal for patronising Tahir Hussain and others,' Malhotra said in a statement.

The BJP president described Hussain, Khan, Khalid, and Saifi as individuals patronised by Kejriwal — a charge AAP has consistently rejected. The party has not issued an immediate response to Monday's demands.

Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra's Remarks

Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra also welcomed the conviction, calling the riots 'anti-Hindu' and asserting that the verdict proved a 'pre-planned conspiracy to block roads and massacre Hindus and force them to migrate from the area.' 'The AAP leaders were trying to save Tahir Hussain,' Mishra alleged, adding that efforts by AAP leaders to now embrace Hindutva and hold religious gatherings cannot erase, in his words, 'the guilt of the killing of Hindus, including Ankit Sharma.'

Background: The 2020 Delhi Riots and Ankit Sharma's Death

The February 2020 Delhi riots in North East Delhi left over 50 people dead and hundreds injured over several days of communal violence. Ankit Sharma, an IB official, was among those killed. Investigators later charged Tahir Hussain, who was then an AAP municipal councillor, with orchestrating the attack. The case has been politically charged since its inception, with the BJP repeatedly using it to target AAP and Kejriwal, while AAP has maintained that the party had no role in the violence.

The conviction marks a significant legal milestone in one of the most high-profile cases to emerge from the riots. Further sentencing proceedings are expected to follow.