Three associates of suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain held: Police

Three men, allegedly associates of suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were arrested in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB)

Three men, allegedly associates of suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were arrested in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma in last month’s communal riots, police said on Wednesday.

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Hussain, his brother Shah Alam, and six others were already arrested in the case, which is being investigated by one of two special investigation teams (SITs) formed to probe riots cases. After Sharma’s body, with more than 40 stab wounds, was recovered from a drain on February 26, a day after he was killed in Chand Bagh, the Delhi Police had said that the case was a priority.

A Delhi Police spokesperson, who did not want to be named, said that three men — identified as Mohammad Shahdab, Rashid Saifi, and Abid — were arrested on Tuesday after Hussain and others were questioned. The spokesperson did not share much details about the arrests, saying he was not directly associated with the probe.

“While their role in the riots has been established, the investigators are questioning them to ascertain if they were part of the mob that brutally killed the IB staffer. Through technical evidence, we are trying to establish if they were present on the Chand Bagh Puliya (culvert) where the IB staffer was killed,” the officer said.

Hussain was arrested in the case after his plea to surrender was rejected by a Delhi court last Tuesday, ending an eight-day search operation by the SIT. His interrogation led to the arrest of Liyakat, Riyasat and Tahir Alam, who were alleged to be part of the mob that was present at Hussain’s building’s on February 24, another officer said.

While Alam was granted bail soon after his arrest, Liyakat was sent to jail last week whereas the police secured three-day custody of Riyasat for further interrogation. Their interrogation led to the arrest of Hussain’s brother, Shah Alam, and three others (names not shared by the police) on Monday on the charges of sheltering Hussain while he was evading his arrest.

As of now more than 700 cases have been registered in connection with the north-east Delhi riots. Around 2,400 people have either been detained or arrested in these case. A total of 53 people lost their lives while over 400 were injured in the Capital’s worst communal violence in the last three decades.