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Former IPS officer DG Vanzara gets post-retirement promotion by Gujarat government, to get all dues pending from 2007

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Former IPS officer DG Vanzara gets post-retirement promotion by Gujarat government, to get all dues pending from 2007

Former IPS officer DG Vanzara, who was once falsely accused in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh-Tulsiram Prajapati and Ishrat Jahan encounter cases, has been given post-retirement promotion as Inspector General of Police (IGP), reports Times of India. The post-retirement promotion has come after six years of Vanzara’s retirement.

According to the notification issued by the Gujarat state Home Department, DG Vanzara has been promoted as the IGP with effect from September 29, 2007. Additional secretary to the state Home department, Nikhil Bhatt, on Wednesday confirmed that his department has issued a notification about Vanzara’s promotion.

Vanzara, a 1987-batch IPS officer, had retired as the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) on May 31, 2014.

The long-awaited promotion, with come to effect from September 29, 2007, will entitle him to all arrears from that date. Taking to Twitter, Vanzara posted a copy of the government notification.


The former IPS officer had retired in May 2014 after spending 8 years in jail. Vnazara, who had joined as DSP in 1980, had become an IPS officer in 1987. He had also served as DCP of the Ahmedabad crime branch and was later promoted as DIG of the ATS in Ahmedabad. He was arrested on April 24, 2007, in connection with the alleged fake encounter cases while he was posted in the Kutch and Banaskantha region.

Read: Firstpost deletes Interview with maker of “The Ishrat Jahan Conspiracy”

In May last year, the Special CBI court had acquitted DG Vanzara and AK Amin of all the charges in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case. Earlier, on April 30 the court had reserved its verdict on the two applications filed by Vanzara and Amin. Vanzara was acquitted of the Shohrabuddin and his wife Kauser Bi’s encounter cases in 2017.

After the post-retirement promotion order, the former IPS officer will now be eligible to get all arrears, pension and salary pending from September 2007, as per his promoted rank and position.

Vanzara was arrested by Gujarat CID and was lodged for over 5 years in Sabarmati central jail. In 2012, he was moved to the Taloja jail in Mumbai after the SC had shifted trial in Shohrabuddin case to Mumbai. He was again arrested by CBI and was brought back to Sabarmati central jail in 2013, where he had remained till his bail was granted by Bombay HC in Shohrabuddin case. He had finally walked out from jail in February 2015 after CBI allowed his bail plea in the Ishrat Jahan case.

AAP social media head claims AAP corporator Tahir Hussain was not present in his house, people point out him with lathi in a video

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AAP social media head claims AAP corporator Tahir Hussain was not present in his house, people point out him with lathi in a video

The family members of IB official Ankit Sharma who was brutally murdered by the Anti-CAA rioters in Delhi have blamed the Aam Aadmi Party corporator Tahir Hussain. In a video shared by AAP national social head, Hussain claims that he was not present in his house since two days after he was ‘rescued’ from mob violence.


In the video shared on 26th February, Hussain claims that the allegations against him are ‘politically motivated’ and squarely blames BJP leader Kapil Mishra for the violence. In his video he claims that a mob had gathered around his place on 24th February and he called for police help. “After many hours the police force reached, checked the building and took us away safely,” he claims. He claims that he requested police force to stay put so no one takes ‘undue advantage’ of his building. “But don’t know why, yesterday (25th February), the police force was removed and the rioters did the same thing from our building,” Hussain claims. He adds how he is a good Indian Muslim and has always worked for Hindu-Muslim brotherhood. He then swears on his children and he would never ‘do anything like this’.

Read: “A thulla called Ankit Sharma was found in the gutter today”: AAP convener’s statement on murder of IB official in Delhi riots

However, netizens soon pointed out a video where Hussain can be seen wielding a lathi in his hand on his roof. He is wearing the same white shirt and maroon sleeveless sweater he is wearing in the purported 26th February video. In a video shared by BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya, Hussain can be seen on roof of his house with a lathi in his hands talking to some people who are wearing masks on their face.


He is wearing the same sweater in the above video which he was wearing in his February 26 video. In a video that had gone viral on social media on Wednesday, one can see stones and petrol bombs being hurled from the apartment building of Hussain.


The dead body of IB official Ankit Sharma was found from a drain in Chand Bagh on 26th February 2020. His father, Ravindra Sharma, also with the IB, had blamed Hussain and his goons for the murder of their son.

One of the residents of Moonga Nagar, who was an eyewitness to the murder of Ankit Sharma, stated that the IB sleuth was dragged inside Hussain’s building by a frenzied mob from the gate of the house. Furthermore, it as claimed that multiple eyewitnesses have seen that along with Ankit Sharma, two other persons were also dragged inside Hussain’s building by a mob from outside the house. Ankit’s body was recovered from a drain in Chand Bagh but the fate of the other two still remains uncertain.

Ankit Sharma had joined the IB in 2017. As per reports, his rank was ‘security assistant’. His father has alleged that in addition to being beaten up, Ankit Sharma was also shot at. The body has been sent to GTB Hospital for a post mortem

18 FIRs filed, 106 people arrested in connection with North-East Delhi violence: Police

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18 FIRs filed, 106 people arrested in connection with North-East Delhi violence: Police

The Delhi police on Wednesday announced that it has registered 18 FIRs and arrested 106 people so far in connection with the incident of violent clashes in the North-East Delhi.

Delhi Police PRO, MS Randhawa said during a press conference, “Miscreants are being identified. We have the CCTV footage&strong evidence. No untoward incident took place today.”

The Delhi police made an appeal to the people not to pay any attention to rumour-mongering and spread out the helpline numbers. Randhawa clarified, “Situation is under control today.”

Clashes between two groups broke out on Monday, among those who are in favor of CAA and those who are protesting against CAA that later turned into communal riots.

As per the recent report, the death toll has reached a mark of 27, and more than 250 people injured in the clashes.

Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal demanded Home ministry to deploy army in the city to tackle the communal violence seen in the last three days.

Kejriwal said, “The Delhi LG promised that additional force will be deployed and some force was deployed also, but despite that, the incidents of firing did not stop.”

IB sleuth Ankit Sharma and two others were dragged by a Muslim mob inside AAP corporator Tahir Hussain’s house: Eyewitnesses

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IB sleuth Ankit Sharma and two others were dragged by a Muslim mob inside AAP corporator Tahir Hussain’s house: Eyewitnesses

Amidst the violence that gripped several parts of the Northeast Delhi, the body of a young officer of the Intelligence Bureau, Ankit Sharma, was recovered today from a drain in Chand Bagh, one of the areas hit by the violence that had swept northeast Delhi. It is believed that he was beaten to death and later, the mob disposed of his body by dumping it in the drain.

Now, eyewitness accounts of Ankit Sharma’s death have come to the fore confirming the suspicions that Sharma was lynched to death by a Muslim mob. Journalist Rahul Pandita managed to get hold of multiple eyewitnesses who saw the young officer being dragged inside a house by an enraged mob before his dead body was lying in the drain.

Pandita took to Twitter to share his explosive findings. According to him, Hindu residents of Moonga Nagar area of Chand Bagh have levelled serious allegations against AAP corporator Mohammed Tahir Hussain. As per the residents, the Muslim mob operated from Hussain’s house to unleash their carnage.

In a video shared by Pandita, an unruly mob of frenzied individuals can be seen atop a building, which the residents claim belongs to AAP corporator Mohammed Tahir Hussain. One can see the mob pelting stones and throwing petrol bombs from the rooftop of the building.


One of the residents of Moonga Nagar, who was an eyewitness to the murder of Ankit Sharma, stated that the IB sleuth was dragged inside the Hussain’s building by a frenzied mob from the gate of the house.

Furthermore, Pandita claims that multiple eyewitnesses have claimed that along with Ankit Sharma, two other persons were also dragged inside Hussain’s building by a mob from outside the house. Ankit’s body was recovered from a drain in Chand Bagh but the fate of the other two still remains uncertain.


The mother of slain IB officer bemoaned that her son was dragged and killed by a Muslim mob. “He just got out of the lane when the mob dragged him and took him away,” his mother lamented.


Ankit Sharma had joined the IB in 2017. As per reports, his rank was ‘security assistant’. His father has alleged that in addition to being beaten up, Ankit Sharma was also shot at. The body has been sent to GTB Hospital for a post mortem. An individual from Bihar, Deepak Kumar, has also been beaten to death by the rioters. He is originally from Salempur village in Bihar’s Bhojpur district and lived at Mandoli in Delhi.

Delhi Riots: Muslim mob pelts stones at NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain while he was reporting from the ground, forcing him to leave the area

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Delhi Riots: Muslim mob pelts stones at NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain while he was reporting from the ground, forcing him to leave the area

Stones were pelted by rioters in Delhi at NDTV journalist Sreenivasan Jain when he reached Babarpur-Maujpur to report on the riots in the area. In a video clip from NDTV shared by Deepak Chaurasia, consulting editor of News Nation, Sreenivasan can be seen reporting about the Delhi riots and saying that stones were being pelted at him following which he retreated from his position. He said that the rioters did not want to be filmed.


Sreenivasan Jain says that members of the ‘minority community’ have gathered at the Jaffrabad area. When he says ‘minority community’, we can safely assume that he is not referring to Jains, Sikhs or Buddhists. He was referring to the Muslim community.

He said that the protesters don’t want to be filmed, and he assured them that they are not being recorded. After that, he got the camera point to the opposite direction, so that stone pelting by the mob is not captured, and after that moved away from the site.

“Already, some stones have starting to come so we are not going to film anymore. We will turn the camera to the other side, will we turn the camera and walk towards the other side, we are not going to get the crowd agitated”, Sreenivasan Jain says and moves away from the spot, conceding to the demands of the stone-pelting mob.

Deepak Chaurasia took a dig at the NDTV journalist reminding Sreenivasan Jain that he had claimed that Chaurasia was not a journalist when he was attacked by anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh.

Chaurasia asked him why were the ‘peaceful protesters’ pelting stones at him even though he is a ‘journalist’. Chaurasia went further and said that if Sreenivasan Jain had told the rioters that he was from the same channel as Ravish Kumar, then he would have been spared. Chaurasia was attacked by a mob at Shaheen Bagh on the 24th of January. Following the assault, attempts were made to justify the attack on him by usual suspects.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Delhi Police, Amulya Patnaik has said that normalcy is returning in riot-hit North-East Delhi to a large extent, and senior officers are on rounds and extra forces have been deployed in the area. He said things are being brought back to normal. Communal riots had erupted at the national capital causing great damage to life and property.

As Delhi gradually comes back to normalcy, anti-CAA protesters removed from Jaffrabad resume sit-in dharna at Seelampur

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As Delhi gradually comes back to normalcy, anti-CAA protesters removed from Jaffrabad resume sit-in dharna at Seelampur

After the riots in North-East Delhi which were finally brought to a halt by security forces today, the Anti-CAA women protestors have moved to Seelampur to continue their protest against Citizenship Amendment Ac. Earlier they were protesting in front of the Jaffrabad metro station, blocking access to the station, but the sit-in protest there were cleared by police due to riots in the northeast Delhi area. The stretch below Jaffrabad metro station, which was occupied by the mostly woman protesters, was cleared by on Tuesday as the surrounding areas went up on flames and mob unleashed fury calling to vacate the place.

Some people were already protesting at the Seelamour site for the last 2 months, and today nearly 300 women shifted there from Jaffrabad metro station that is nearly a kilometre away and joined the sit-in there. The protesters said that they have relocated for their own safety, as local leaders, clerics and activists requested them to shift. A call for relocation was also made from the local mosque after the evening prayers.

Volunteers coordinating the protests said that they were having to navigate between the two protest sites, and women protesters reaching the Jaffrabad site had become a challenge due to the violence. Volunteers formed a human chain around the women so that they can safely shift from Jaffrabad to Seelampur.

The protests against CAA hit the streets of Delhi in the middle of December last year, which led to riots in Seelampur-Jamia and other parts of the country. The Islamist mob set ablaze, destroyed and Vandalised crores of public property in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

The Islamists took the agitation further with the Shaheen Bagh sit-in protests including women and Children against CAA and NRC, that was expected to meet an end after mediation by supreme court lawyers but the protestors continues there, with additional protesters gathered at Jaffrabad Metro station, further leading to the violent clashes among groups and the police.

The death toll of the Delhi riots has reached 20 including policeman Ratan Lal, and more than 200 people are injured. On Wednesday, the fury in ecosystem mounted when IB officer Ankit Sharma was found murdered in a drain in North-east Delhi amidst the communal riots.

Today the Delhi Commissioner of Police, Amulya Patnaik said that the situation in Delhi under control, as normalcy is coming back to the areas affected by the clashes.

“Journalist” Sagarika Ghose and assorted ‘liberals’ ask Arvind Kejriwal to open CM’s relief fund to crowdfund reconstruction of mosque damaged in Delhi riots

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“Journalist” Sagarika Ghose and assorted ‘liberals’ ask Arvind Kejriwal to open CM’s relief fund to crowdfund reconstruction of mosque damaged in Delhi riots

The National Capital of the country was in throes of unprecedented violence as Muslim anti-CAA protesters ran amok, indulging in violent skirmishes with pro-CAA supporters and law enforcement officials, especially in northeast Delhi.

The total breakdown of the law and order was evident by the fact that several policemen suffered injuries, with one head constable of Delhi police and one IB Constable losing their lives and a DCP being severely injured. The situation exacerbated as religious places of worship were targeted by the sparring sides. According to several reports, a mosque in Delhi’s Ashok Nagar was vandalised by a mob, a video of which was doing the rounds on the Internet.

Even as the anti-CAA rioters continued to hold the city by ransom, assorted liberals, spearheaded by “journalist” Sagarika Ghose floated a crowdfunding measure to rebuild the mosque in Ashok Nagar, that was reportedly damaged during the riots. She suggested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal start a chief minister’s relief fund to rebuild the mosque in northeast Delhi, the epicentre of the violent riots.


Sagarika tweeted, “I would like to contribute to re-building of Ashok Ngr mosque & towards bereaved families, including of Constable Ratan Lal. CM @ArvindKejriwal pls start a chief minister’s relief fund to rebuild NE Delhi @AamAadmiParty #DelhiRiots2020. Let’s do it, Dilli. Let’s rebuild, restore.”

Soon after Sagarika appealed the Delhi CM to institute a relief fund to rebuild the mosque, assorted liberals descended on her timeline, extending their support to the idea.

Actor Swara Bhasker, who has been instigating Muslims against the CAA, supported the initiative mooted by Sagarika and responded with “Me Too” on her tweet.


Indian Express journalist Harneet Singh too rallied behind Sagarika and backed her proposal to renovate the mosque.


Businessman Zafar Sareshwala too extended his support saying he would like to participate in the noble cause.


Quoting Sagarika’s tweet, washed-up actress Amyra Dastur said “Yes PLEASE! Would love to contribute to this! What a beautiful initiative.”


However, there were some netizens who were not enthused with the idea of crowdfunding reconstruction of the mosque. Taking a leaf out of liberals’ book, they suggested that instead of a mosque, a school or perhaps a hospital, which has a far more utilitarian value than a religious place, should be constructed instead.

One of the Twitter users did not mince words in expressing his disapproval with Sagarika’s idea of funding the rebuilding of mosques. The user sardonically added that since many mosques have been destroyed, there are enough empty plots for the construction of schools or hospitals.


Another user echoed similar sentiments asking Sagarika why not build a school or hospital at the site of the destroyed mosque as there are enough mosques already.


It is pertinent to mention that before causing grave damages to public property in Delhi during the riots, the Muslim anti-CAA rioters had blocked one of the busiest arterial roads of the National Capital in their bid to prompt the government into revoking the Citizenship Amendment Act, causing huge losses to businesses in the area. The anti-CAA rioters have damaged scores on public and private property in the last two months worth hundreds of crores, but nobody came forward with a proposal for crowdfunding for those loses.

Shaheen Bagh debate worsened into something else, says Supreme Court, defers hearing in road blockade case due to violence

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Shaheen Bagh debate worsened into something else, says Supreme Court, defers hearing in road blockade case due to violence

A bench of the Supreme Court on Wednesday called off the hearing on petitions seeking the removal of Road Blockade by people protesting at Shaheen bagh against the amended citizenship amendment act. Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph deferred the hearing after oral observations on the violence that has erupted in northeast Delhi over the last few days, holding that atmosphere aren’t conducive at present to proceed with this case.

The bench will again hear the petitions on March 23 after the Holi vacation.

Justice SK Kaul remarked, “Colours of Holi represent the difference in opinion which can co-exist. It is time for all parties and stakeholders to lower their temperatures.”

Referring to the violence that had erupted in east Delhi on Monday and turned violent rapidly, the judges observed “the debate (around the shaheen bagh blockade) has deteriorated into something else. And this is only an unfortunate example.”

“Let this fandom cool down. The timing is not conducive to hear this matter. It is for law enforcing administration to ensure environment is conducive,” the court said.

Read- As ‘liberals’ blame Kapil Mishra for the Delhi anti-CAA riots in Delhi, here are 6 times when they blamed ‘Kaafirs’ for Jihad

The death toll due to violence in Delhi has reached 20 and over 250 people are injured.

The judges made it clear that they will limit the hearing to Shaheen Bagh blockade and will not extend to the violence in the East part of Delhi. However, the bench condemned the violence and termed it a “really unfortunate” incident.

The court also sharply criticised police for failing to contain the violence. “The problem is lack of professionalism of police. If this had been done before, this situation would not have risen,” Justice Joseph said. Police don’t have to wait for orders if someone makes inflammatory statements but act according to law, the court said.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta objected to this observation by the court, and stated that the police force should not be demoralized and pointed out that a DCP was nearly lynched. “I request your lordship not to get into all this”, Tushar Mehta said.

The Judges elaborated on what the bench felt was the problem with the response of police to the clashes on Sunday that escalated into a full-fledged communal riot. The judges even said that this is Delhi’s worst in three decades.

Balakot airstrikes first anniversary: The inside story of how ‘Operation Bandar’ unfolded

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Balakot airstrikes first anniversary: The inside story of how ‘Operation Bandar’ unfolded

On this day, last year, the Indian Air Force fighter jets carried out cross-border airstrikes to pulverise the Jaish-e-Muhammad training camp situated deep inside Pakistan, in Balakot. The attack, first of its kind on Pakistani soil, was authorised in response to the Pulwama attack by Jaish-e-Muhammad on February 14, 2019, which claimed 40 CRPF personnel’s lives.

Shortly after an indoctrinated terrorist rammed an explosive-laden car into one of the vehicles of the CRPF convoy, killing 40 CRPF soldiers, the Indian Prime Minister had summoned a CCS meeting to take stock of the situation and discuss the various retaliatory options at India’s disposal. In an ANI report, Air Marshal C Hari Kumar has revealed how the events had unfolded at that time.

According to Air Marshal C Hari Kumar, who headed the IAF’s western command during the operation last year, on 15th February, a day after the ghastly terror attack, the Chief of Air Staff at the Western Command was briefed as to what are the options available.

“At that stage, we had a specific set of targets to be addressed. However, on February 18, we got a very strong and credible intelligence input on Balakot which was conveyed to the leadership. The intelligence input provided by Research& Analysis Wing was very accurate and specific. It not only had coordinates that are most important for carrying out such attacks but it also provided with excellent imagery and reliable ground shots of the target,” Kumar said to ANI.

Considering the distance involved, the Air Force was selected for the operation after zeroing in on the targets, he added. Further due-diligence was done to ascertain the designated mean point in the impact of those targets. Regarding the question as to how Mirage 2000 were finalised for the operation, Kumar said, “Looking at the geographic location of Balakot, which is 50 km inside Pakistan, Mirage 2000 was the only option that carried SPICE and Crystal Maze which gave us a significantly larger stand-off.”.

When sought details about how the operation came to be called as “Bandar”, Kumar recalled that the word ‘Bandar” was a codeword to relay the success of the mission. “I distinctly remember. It was on the 25th of February. My farewell was going on at a large banquet when the Air Chief came and took me along the lawn to reconfirm if all the preparations are done. During that time, he told me that when the operation is over and our men have safely landed back, just give me a call. If you say “Bandar”, I will presume everything has gone smoothly and the operation is a success,” Kumar said.

As per the Operation, Mirages got airborne from Gwalior airbase and travelled north towards the Bareilly sector. From Bareilly, they travelled further north, taking advantage of the mountainous terrain, and continued their flight upwards of Srinagar in the direction of Balakot.

Read: 10 remarkable details of the Indian air strike over Balakot terror camp

Talking about minutes before the final moments, Kumar said, “The first bomb impact was 0328. At 0305, PAF scrambled 2 F-16s at the Indian Mirages. However, to thwart their attempts to foil the operation, a decoy was set as we launched four Jaguars from Ambala and two Su-30 Combat Air Patrols(CAPs) at high speed towards Bhawalpur, another major location for JeM training camp. The decoy was successful as two F-16s broke the pattern and flew at high speed southwards. The Indian fleet of aircraft attacked and destroyed the designated targets and landed back at around 0400.”

Kumar also spoke about the possible number of terrorists eliminated in the operation and the consequences of the airstrikes carried out on the enemy soil. “We had an intelligence input about a great number of people present at the Jaish’s facility in Balakot. I think maybe 500 to 600 terrorists were eliminated in the operation. The operation marks a paradigm shift in India’s approach in dealing with cross-border terrorism. We have conveyed them in the strongest term that a terrorist attack on Indian soil is no longer acceptable and will exact punitive measures. Since the Balakot airstrikes, there have been no terror attacks throughout the year. The message is loud and clear. India has the resolve and ability to take swift action against terror attacks. Next time it happens, we will hit them even harder,” Kumar said.

“A thulla called Ankit Sharma was found in the gutter today”: AAP convener’s statement on murder of IB official in Delhi riots

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“A thulla called Ankit Sharma was found in the gutter today”: AAP convener’s statement on murder of IB official in Delhi riots

Aam Aadmi Party leader Mayur Panghaal today took to Facebook to comment on the brutal murder of Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma in the Delhi riots. In a status update, referring to Sharma as a ‘thulla’, Panghaal said, “So a thulla called Ankit Sharma was found in the gutter today. Somehow I cant feel sorry for a any dead thulla so spare me the elegy.”

Mayur Panghaal’s ‘thulla’ remark on Facebook

Thulla is a derogatory term used to refer to policemen. Earlier, AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, too, had referred to Delhi Police as ‘thulla‘.

He had put up similar derogatory tweets on his Twitter profile as well.

Mayur Panghaal tweets (image: effuctivehumour on Twitter)
Mayur Panghaal tweets (image: effuctivehumour on Twitter)
Mayur Panghaal tweets (image: erbmjha on Twitter)

Panghaal works as joint convener, Aam Aadmi Party, Navi Mumbai for Belapur constituency. He manages the AAP Facebook page for Belapur constituency. His posts over the years have been consistently pro-Aam Aadmi Party. He has now deleted his Facebook post and deactivated his Twitter account.

Mayur Panghaal’s Facebook page

Earlier on Wednesday, the dead body of an Intelligence Bureau constable was recovered from a drain in North East Delhi amidst communal riots in the national capital. Ankit Sharma, who lived in Chand Bagh, was returning home on Tuesday evening when he was allegedly attacked by a violent mob on the Chand Bagh bridge and beaten to death. The anti-CAA mob later threw his body was later into a drain.

Read: AAP leader Tahir Hussain’s goons attacked him, says family of IB officer murdered in Delhi riots

Later, his body was recovered from a drain in Chand Bagh. It is believed that he was beaten to death and later, the mob disposed of his body by dumping it in the drain. Sharma’s father, Ravindra Sharma, who is also associated with the IB had reportedly held local Aam Aadmi Party of murdering his son. Reportedly, his father said that Ankit Sharma was shot after the anti-CAA rioters had beaten up mercilessly.

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