No CCTV footage near Tahir Hussain's residence, deliberately hiding activities: Police in Delhi violence chargesheet

By Ravi Jalhotra Delhi Police on Tuesday submitted a chargesheet in a Karkardooma court in connection with the northeast Delhi violence saying that no CCTV footage was recovered from cameras installed near the residence of suspended AAP councillor Tahir Hussain allegedly in a deliberate attempt to hide his activities prior and during the violence.

According to the 1,030-page chargesheet, several CCTV cameras were found installed in his house and office and four DVRs were also recovered from his residence. "But, as per expert opinion from Forensic Science Laboratory, no recording from Feb 23 to Feb 28 could be found/retrieved from any DVR. It means there was no data recorded of that time either because of CCTVs were swithced off or they were not in working condition," police said in the chargesheet.

It said that it is understandable that a person like Tahir Hussain, a local politician and a businessman, would be recording the movement of every single person visiting his house. "There is no recording of persons visiting him in his office/house prior to the commencement of riots/during the riots as if he did not wish the events to be recorded. Absence of any recording in the DVRs points that he deliberately did it to hide his activities prior to/during the riots," the police said.

The police, in the chargesheet, said that few facts that emerged during the investigation point to a vast conspiracy hatched by main accused Tahir Hussain. Police said that Hussain got his pistol released from Khajuri Khas police station just before the riots started and couldn't give any satisfactory reason for doing so.

He had also purchased 100 cartridges on his license but only 64 live cartridges and 22 shells were recovered from his possession, and during interrogation, he was unable to give a satisfactory answer for the remaining 14 live cartridges and the used cartridges. Police said that they recovered several empty crates, which hold glass bottles and several crates containing glass stuffed with pieces of clothes and were used as Molotov cocktails. Police also recovered large amounts of bricks and stones and three catapults from his house, the chargesheet said.

It said that despite several rioters being present at his house during the violence, destroying the nearby houses, and shops at his own house were untouched, pointing towards a well-hatched conspiracy. CDR location of Hussain on January 8 matched with that of Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid, the chargesheet said adding that he disclosed his meeting and planning of riots with them at Shaheen Bagh.

After the violence in the national capital, Tahir absconded for a period of ten days while he was on the national news the police were searching for him. In February earlier this year, clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi between the groups supporting and opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which led to the deaths of at least 53 people. (ANI)

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