From the 24th of February to the 25th of February, Delhi burnt with perhaps one of the worst anti-Hindu riots that the country has seen in recent times. As many as 53 people were killed and hundreds injured in the riots that were planned, organised, masterminded and implemented with clinical precision by the Islamists. One of the main protagonists of the sinister story is Tahir Hussain, the AAP leader who spearheaded the Delhi riots in which IB staffer Ankit Sharma was murdered brutally by his mob and several Hindu properties were burnt to ashes.
Delhi Court observes provocation of Muslim mobs by Tahir Hussain
Taking cognisance of the charge sheet filed against former AAP leader Tahir Hussain for his involvement in the Delhi Anti-Hindu riots, a Delhi court on Friday said that Muslims turned violent after AAP leader Tahir Hussain had provoked them and started pelting stones on the Hindu community. Metropolitan Magistrate Purushottam Pathak, however, noted that any delay in proceeding further in the trial will unnecessarily delay and defeat the purpose of constituting special courts for trial of the riot cases.
The court observed that prima facie the accused Tahir Hussain was leading the mob from his house and also from the Masjid near Chand Bagh Pulia on February 24 and 25. He was instrumental for the gathering of the unlawful assembly in conspiracy with accused persons namely Haseen, Nazim, Kasim, Sameer Khan, Anas, Firoj, Javed, Gulfam, and Shoaib Alam, having common intention and unlawful object, the court said.
It stated further, “On his (Hussain’s) provocation/instigation, the Muslims turned violent and became volatile on February 24 and 25 and started burning shops and pelting stones and petrol bombs on Hindu community and also targeted their houses situated in that locality. Thereupon, the uncontrolled mob turned into rioters and in process of rioting caught hold of Ankit Sharma and dragged him to Chand Bagh Pulia and caused his death by inflicting multiple injuries using sharp and blunt objects/weapons in a brutal manner and with a view to conceal the evidence, all of them in furtherance of their common intention, threw his dead body in the drain.”
The defence of the former AAP Councillor by left-liberal cabal
Following the arrest of the AAP councillor after the murder of Ankit Sharma, the cabal of left-liberal journalists, filmmakers, and news portals had blatantly tried to give him a clean chit. While some relied upon the Trump card of ‘Muslim victimhood’ in a majoritarian society, others evoked misleading narratives to absolve Hussain of his complicity in the Delhi riots.
Journalist Rana Ayyub came to Tahir’s rescue after he was arrested. She drew parallels between Tahir Hussain and other BJP leaders such as Kapil Mishra and Anurag Thakur to claim that it was an act of ‘majority privilege’. She tweeted, “Tahir Hussain arrested. Kapil Mishra gets Y plus security, Anurag Thakur is free, no one seeking accountability from Amit Shah, Modi is being celebrated. We call this majority privilege.”
Alt News, known for dubious fact-checking and whitewashing Islamists under the garb of fact-check, too hopped on the opportunity to help prove Tahir Hussain’s innocence. In a bid to verify a video wherein Hussain was seen as seeking ‘police help’, Alt News concluded, “Unlike the claim on social media, Alt News could not spot any signs of the video being edited in the high definition version.” Further, giving credence to his claims, the fact-checking website noted, “In conclusion, the video of AAP councillor Mohammed Tahir Hussain appealing for help was sent out on February 24.”
The rescue mission for the Delhi Anti-Hindu riot accused wasn’t over until ’eminent’ journalist Rajdeep Sardesai arrived to the scene. On two separate occasions, he tried to shift the onus from Tahir Hussain to the people questioning his role in the riots.
On February 27, Rajdeep tweeted, “35 people have died in riots till now; but for RW Internet army, only Ankit Sharma matters because needle of suspicion is on AAP councillor, Tahir Hussain.” Shifting the focus from the victimisation of Hindus at the hands of Muslim mobs, Rajdeep makes a ‘secular’ appeal to everyone to seek justice for ‘all’ innocent victims. “The day we seek justice for each and every innocent victim of riots, Hindu or Muslim, we will build a ‘new’ better India!”
Despite video footage showing Tahir Hussain standing in close quarters with those hurling petrol bombs and stones from his terrace, Rajdeep Sardesai discovers a video of an Islamist mob supposedly trying to enter the house of Hussain. In a bid to legitimise the claims of the AAP councillor, he tweeted, “So Tahir Hussain tells India Today he wasn’t in house when his terrace was used to target people with petrol bombs : claims a mob was trying to enter his house and he escaped with police help.”
The left-propagandist news portal, The Wire, was not behind in providing editorial space to the accused AAP councillor on its website. The portal had shared a video wherein he claimed that he had full Faith in the Indian judiciary and that he was surrendering before the court. He claimed, “I am innocent and a victim of communal violence myself.” Interestingly, his claims were later debunked by his own confession. A Delhi court had rejected his surrender plea and Hussain was eventually arrested by the Delhi police.
The said video was shared by founder Siddharth Varadarajan and ‘journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani.
Giving a clean chit to Tahir Hussain, ‘filmmaker’ Vinod Kapri argued, “The video was shot during the riots. If he was involved in the violence, then, why did he keep calling the police home? A police investigation has revealed that Tahir called them several times.”
The role of Tahir Hussain in Delhi Anti-CAA riots
Tahir Hussain in his confession during the interrogation of Delhi Police said that Khalid Saifi, who is very close to him, planned the riots with him. He once told him that his political position and money should be used against Hindus and for the community. He promised Saifi that he will always be ready to take any step. After the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman and the Indian government passed Citizen Amendment Act tabled by Home Minister Amit Shah, Tahir and Khalid met and decided that this is time they have to act.
The charge sheet pertaining to FIR 114 states that Tahir played a vital role in burning several Hindu shops in the Khajuri Khas area along with his accomplices. During the investigation, police found out that he had instigated a mob during the riots of 24th and 25th February 2020 saying that Hindus have killed many Muslims and had set their shops on fire on the Sherpur Chowk. The charge sheet says, “Only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. During interrogation, he could not give an account of the remaining 14 live cartridges and 22 empty/fired cartridges, when and where the same were fired/used.”
