Anything below death sentence is injustice, say family of IB officer Ankit Sharma

Ravinder Kumar, the father of murdered Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma, expressed disappointment at Friday’s verdict in which former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others were given life terms, saying anything other than a death sentence is “injustice” for the family

Ravinder Kumar, the father of murdered Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer Ankit Sharma, expressed disappointment at Friday’s verdict in which former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others were given life terms, saying anything other than a death sentence is “injustice” for the family.

Speaking to HT, the 53-year-old said, “The verdict is not fair to us. The court should have given them a death penalty. Anything below that is injustice to Ankit and our family.”

Kumar said that after the conviction, he had hoped the judge would give the strictest punishment. “I was hopeful when police had sought a death penalty. They brutally killed him for no fault of his own. I hope to challenge this order.”

Reacting to the judge’s observation that the convicts fell “susceptible to misinformation” due to a “lack of education,” Kumar said, “How does education have anything to do with the brutality they showed my child? They did not think twice before taking his life.”

Ankit’s brother, Ankur, told HT, “The judge should have taken note of the trauma sustained by our family after Ankit’s death. We have left our home and shifted to an undisclosed location now. We are relieved but want to pursue the case further for a death sentence.”