Forensic team collects evidence related to IB staffer Ankit Sharma’s murder

New Delhi: A forensic team on Friday visited the Chand Bagh area to collect evidences from the residence of AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and also the spot from where the body of an Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer was recovered on Wednesday.

The forensic team arrived at the residence of Hussain, a day after Delhi Police booked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader for allegedly inciting rioting and in connection with the murder of IB staffer Ankit Sharma.

Delhi Police had sealed Hussain’s house of Thursday. The forensic team visited all the floors of Hussain’s residence-cum-commercial complex in Chand Bagh and collected scientific evidences.

The team then reached the sewer from where Sharma’s body was recovered on Wednesday. The team collected blood samples and other materials from the spot and also from the boundary walls along the drain.

Sharma’s father has alleged that Hussain and his supporters were behind the murder of his son. The forensic team also visited the other buildings adjacent to Hussain’s residence that bore the brunt of the rioting that took place on Monday and Tuesday.

Late on Thursday night, Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party had announced that it had suspended Hussain until the probe against him was over.

When Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was asked about the charges against Hussain on Thursday, he had said: “Any person found guilty should be given strict punishment. If any Aam Aadmi Party member is found guilty, he or she should be given double the punishment.”

Sharma’s autopsy report said that he was brutally stabbed more than 400 times. His family has alleged that Hussain’s supporters brutally assaulted Sharma and killed him.

On Thursday, a large cache of bottles meant for petrol bombs, acid pouches and stones were recovered from the rooftop of Hussain’s house. Hussain is an AAP municipal councillor from Nehru Vihar.

Hussain’s house came under the scanner after a number of videos on social media showed 100 to 150 people pelting stones, hurling petrol bombs and acid from his rooftop.

Delhi Police deployed heavy force in the area during the Friday prayers. Workers of the Public Works Department (PWD) and the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) were seen cleaning the debris from the streets in the area.

Most shops in the North-East Delhi’s violence hit areas like Chand Bagh, Bhajanpura, Jafrabad, Seelampur and Maujpur remained closed on Friday.

The streets still bore a deserted look on Friday as most of the people remained inside their houses following the tension in the area.

The violence has so far claimed 43 lives besides injuring over 200 others. The 3 km stretch from Bhajanpura to Karawal Nagar still bore marks of the arson with torched houses on both sides of the road.

It all started on February 23 when clashes between pro and anti-CAA protesters turned violent.

IANS