NEW DELHI: With fingers being pointed at him over the death of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma whose battered body was recovered on Wednesday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Tahir Hussain has claimed his innocence in a video statement.
In the video released on Wednesday, Tahir Hussain claimed that he too was a victim of the violence that broke out in several parts of northeast Delhi.
In the video, the AAP leader identifies himself and goes on to state, "I want to say that all the news being spread and shown about me is totally false. It is all dirty politics being played against me. Ever since Kapil Mishra made his provocative speech, the situation in Delhi has worsened. Stone-pelting is going on in several places and many other things that are being reported. All this happened here too, and we responded fast and called up the police. A huge crowd broke my office gate, climbed my terrace. I asked for help from the police and they reached a few hours later and then the situation was brought under control."
IB employee Ankit Sharma, whose body was recovered on Wednesday from a sewer in Jaffrabad, even as riot-hit parts of northeast Delhi were slowly limping back to normalcy. The dead IB staffer's family has alleged Tahir Hussain's supporters brutally assaulted Sharma and killed him.
People in the neighbourhood have alleged that the AAP leader played an active role in the riots that engulfed the area since Sunday.
AAP leaders have been quick to defend Tahir Hussain over the allegations.