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2020 Delhi Riots Accused Tahir Hussain Convicted: How India’s ‘Liberal’ Media Whitewashed His Crimes For Six Years

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2020 Delhi Riots Accused Tahir Hussain Convicted: How India's 'Liberal' Media Whitewashed His Crimes For Six Years

A Delhi court on Monday convicted former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain and four others for the murder of Intelligence Bureau (IB) staffer Ankit Sharma during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as reported in The Hindu. Additional Sessions Judge Praveen Singh of the Karkardooma courts delivered the verdict, convicting Hussain for murder, kidnapping, rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly, and promoting enmity between different groups.

Ankit Sharma’s body was recovered from the Chand Bagh drain on 26 February 2020. The post-mortem examination recorded 51 ante-mortem injuries caused by sharp-edged weapons and blunt force trauma. His intestines lay outside his body when discovered.

The Media Whitewashing Campaign

In the immediate aftermath of the riots, several media outlets and journalists engaged in what can be described as a systematic effort to whitewash Hussain’s crimes and portray him as a victim rather than an accused perpetrator.

Key Media Figures Who Defended Hussain

Rajdeep Sardesai defended Hussain on 27 February 2020, writing on social media: “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! Shows us a video of a mob allegedly trying to force its way into house.”

Newslaundry repeatedly claimed there was little evidence against Hussain and suggested his role was a concoction of “right-wing media.”

Newslaundry’s Campaign

Newslaundry published multiple reports attempting to discredit the evidence against Hussain:

February 28, 2020: A report titled “Indian media has made Tahir Hussain the face of Delhi riots. What’s the evidence?” by Ayan Sharma questioned the media narrative linking Hussain to the violence.

March 5, 2020: A ground report claimed discrepancies in news reporting about Hussain’s involvement.

August 4, 2020: Another report examined Hussain’s “confession” and attempted to cast doubt on its validity.

Newslaundry journalist Manisha Pande actively promoted these reports, suggesting they were “important details that were glossed over” and recommended re-reading all three pieces.

Abhinandan Sekhri, co-founder of Newslaundry, released a video titled “Media’s conspiracy to protect Tahir Hussain” on March 4, 2020, which further promoted narratives sympathetic to Hussain.

The News Minute

TNM seemed to just report from newswire such as IANS/PTI and regurgitated content. There was nothing substantial about the coverage.

Alleged Fact-Checker Zubair & Alt News: Creating False Narratives

Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of the fact-checking website Alt News, played a significant role in attempting to whitewash Hussain’s crimes. On 3 March 2020, Zubair posted a video claiming that Hussain’s appeal for police help was legitimate and that Alt News had “investigated” the claim. He presented Hussain as someone who had called the police for help during the riots, conveniently ignoring that Hussain himself had admitted to making those calls strategically to create false evidence for his defense.

In May 2026, even after Hussain’s conviction, Zubair continued his pattern of defending those accused of anti-Hindu violence. When the Supreme Court reiterated that “bail is rule, jail is exception even under UAPA,” Zubair specifically tagged this ruling to cases involving Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Tahir Hussain, Meeran Haider, and Ishrat Jahan – all individuals accused in the Delhi riots conspiracy. This was a deliberate attempt to use a general legal principle to garner sympathy for convicted criminals and those facing trial for serious offenses, including murder.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani and The Wire: Systematic Whitewashing

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, a senior journalist at The Wire, engaged in an extensive campaign to shift blame away from Muslim perpetrators and instead portray Hindus as the aggressors:

Blaming the Victim Narrative

On 16 July 2020, Sherwani posted: “Three-quarters of those killed in Delhi riots were Muslim & the vast majority of homes/shops damaged in the violence belonged to Muslims too.” While this statistic may have been factually correct, she presented it without context ignoring that violence was pre-planned by Islamist elements and that Muslim casualties were often the result of cross-firing and resistance when Hindus defended themselves, as documented in police charge sheets.

Shifting Blame to Hindus

Sherwani promoted a Wire ‘investigation’ on 28 February 2021, that claimed to reveal the “real conspiracy of Delhi Riots” by focusing on “Deepak Hindu” and “Ankit Trivedi,” whom she described as “seen rioting, and later boasting of killing Muslims.” This was a clear attempt to deflect attention from the well-documented Islamist conspiracy and create a false equivalence between perpetrators and defenders.

Creating a “Surrender” Spectacle

When Hussain surrendered on March 5, 2020, Sherwani and The Wire portrayed it as an act of faith in the justice system. The Wire tweeted: “EXCLUSIVE | ‘I am innocent and a victim of communal violence myself.’ I have full faith in the justice system of my country. I want to surrender before the court.'”

Sherwani personally promoted this narrative: “Surrender plea rejected by the court. Tahir Hussain is arrested by Delhi Police. ‘Have full faith in the justice system of my country…Am surrendering before the court today.'”

What Sherwani and The Wire failed to mention was that Hussain had been hiding in a madrasa, had created fake videos with fire in the background to portray himself as a victim, and had been sheltered by journalists even before his arrest. The “surrender” was a carefully orchestrated media event designed to whitewash his crimes.

Attacking the Supreme Court

On 26 November 2020, Sherwani attacked the Supreme Court for not being sufficiently sympathetic to those accused in the riots, writing: “Real disappointment for citizens facing such an unprecedented assault on their basic democratic rights is not that Modi regime & its hatchet men are behaving the way they are. The disappointment is with the apex court… Barring its capitulation during the Emergency, the apex court has always been seen as the fence which would protect the democratic crop. What is the remedy if the fence starts eating the crop?”

This was an extraordinary attack on the judiciary for merely allowing cases against rioters to proceed.

The Wire’s Editorial Position

The Wire took an editorial position that the investigation into the Delhi riots was “blatantly partisan.” On 26 November 2020, the outlet declared that “whether it is the Govt’s authoritarian approach to Kashmir, the passage of the CAA, the blatantly partisan investigation of the Delhi riots… November 26, 2020 is actually a day for mourning Samvidhan Divas, not celebrating it.”

This editorial stance framed the legitimate prosecution of murderers and rioters as a “partisan investigation,” effectively whitewashing the crimes committed by Hussain and his co-conspirators.

Others in the Whitewashing Ecosystem

Rana Ayyub

The journalist Rana Ayyub attempted to deflect blame by questioning why Home Minister Amit Shah was not being held “accountable” for the riots: “Why are we not seeking accountability of Home Minister Amit Shah. Fifty three lives lost in the Delhi carnage. Will heads roll?” This was an attempt to pin state-sponsored conspiracy allegations on the government while ignoring the well-documented Islamist conspiracy that had been planned for months.

Vishal Dadlani and Sanjukta Basu

Musician Vishal Dadlani claimed: “Let’s be very clear. Tahir Hussain is the guy that ‘they’ are trying to blame for rioting and violence. Many of you have also bought that narrative.” He asked why Hussain would call the police if he was guilty, conveniently ignoring that Hussain had admitted in his disclosure statement that he made those calls precisely to create a false narrative.

Sanjukta Basu joined the chorus: “But… ask yourself… why would HE call the Police 5 times?” This talking point was widely circulated despite being debunked by Hussain’s own admissions in the charge sheet.

Sakshi Joshi

The journalist wrote, “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.” This was a classic attempt to frame the legitimate arrest of a murderer as “majority privilege” rather than justice.

Source: X
Hussain’s Own Admission of Guilt

Court records and charge sheets reveal that Hussain himself admitted to key aspects of the conspiracy:

Pre-Planned Violence

In his disclosure statement, Hussain explicitly stated that the violence was “planned to teach the Kafirs a lesson”.

Weapon Preparation

Hussain had his licensed revolver released from the police station one day before the violence erupted (22 February 2020).

  • Petrol bombs were thrown from his terrace
  • Stones and weapons were stockpiled at his location

Calculated Deception

Hussain admitted that during the riots on February 24-25, he repeatedly traveled between his house and the Chand Bagh area, calling the PCR police van multiple times. This was done, according to his own admission, to create phone records he could later use to falsely claim he was a victim attempting to contact police.

The Larger Conspiracy Network

Court documents reveal the violence was part of a broader Islamist conspiracy:

Key Conspirators

Arshad Warsi and Sharzil Imam were central figures who conducted underground meetings in December 2019. They planned:

  • How to involve international media like Al Jazeera
  • Distribution of pamphlets in mosques
  • Weapon and bomb-making operations

Warsi was later arrested in the Pune ISIS module case. He had planned multiple bomb blasts in Delhi and possessed bomb-making materials.

Umar Khalid, whose father was a leader of the banned terrorist organization SIMI, was also involved in the conspiracy.

Organized Funding

Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind provided legal and financial support to accused rioters, including:

  • Arranging top Supreme Court lawyers within 12 hours of arrests
  • Funding legal defense for those accused in the riots
  • The organization’s halal certification system allegedly channeled funds toward supporting accused criminals
Evidence of Pre-Planned Violence

Meeting Timeline

  • December 2019: Violence began with mob attacks at Jamia Millia Islamia, where Amanatullah Khan gave a provocative speech
  • December 2019: CNG buses were set on fire, mobs attacked police officers in Seemapuri
  • February 14-16, 2020: Meetings were held in Chand Bagh where plans were made to kill police officers
  • February 22, 2020: Tahir Hussain secured his licensed revolver from the police station
  • February 23, 2020: Kapil Mishra visited Maujpur to demand roads be opened

Targeted Attack on Police

  • February 24, 2020: DCP Amit Sharma was attacked and nearly killed; he remained hospitalized for 35 days
  • Constable Ratan Lal was lynched by the mob
  • The mob chased DCP Amit Sharma to a hospital and attempted to set the hospital on fire
  • Only aerial firing from the hospital forced the mob to retreat

Weapons Stockpiled

  • Catapults, acid pouches, country-made guns (kattas), stones, and petrol bombs were stockpiled
  • Large quantities of weapons were collected over months, not days
The Ankit Sharma Murder

IB staffer Ankit Sharma was:

  • Pulled from a drain where his body was discovered
  • Stabbed 51 times with such brutality that his intestines were exposed
  • Murdered while trying to pacify crowds, according to his father’s complaint

Hussain’s role was documented in charge sheet number 59/2020, which formed part of a 15,000-page comprehensive charge sheet described by prosecutors as “watertight.”

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