Delhi riots: Suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain's two employees key witnesses against him

Two key witnesses in a case of communal violence in northeast Delhi in which suspended AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain was booked as one of the main accused, were employed under him and saw him talking to several persons in a "very secretive" manner before the start of the riots on February 24, a charge sheet filed by Delhi Police in a court here has said.

Girish Pal and Rahul Kasana said in their statements to the police that on February 24 they were present in the office of Hussain in Khajuri Khas area.

"In the afternoon, they saw several persons gathered at the ground floor of the house of Tahir Hussain and he was talking with them in a very secretive manner and accused Shah Alam, Irshad, Abid, Arshad Pradhan, Rashid and Shadab were also present there along with other unknown persons," the charge sheet said.

The duo cited as key witnesses by the police, left after hearing the noise of the mob outside and sensing the tension at the office, it said.

The Crime Branch of the Delhi police had filed the charge sheet before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pawan Singh Rajawat against Hussain and 14 others last month.

The court will take up the matter for consideration of the charge sheet in August.

According to the charge sheet, the copy of which is made available, another prosecution witness Rajbir Singh Yadav, who was supervising the food preparations for a marriage at a parking lot near Hussain's house stated in his statement that the mob destroyed the food prepared for the wedding of his friend's daughter and accused Riyakat Ali looted Rs 62,000 from him.

Accused Shah Alam was also present with Ali along with several others and Hussain was among the mob indulged in riots, it said.

It further said that another prosecution witness stated that Hussain was present at the rooftop of his house and throwing stones and directing others present alongside him who were also throwing stones and petrol bombs towards the parking.

During the course of the investigation, efforts were made to collect the CCTV footage of the incident from the private and government cameras but no videos could be found due to non-availability of any CCTV nearby, the charge sheet said.

Hussain has been charge-sheeted in the case along with 14 others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including rioting, unlawful assembly, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, caste, language etc and relevant provisions of the Arms Act.

Hussain has also been booked under the stringent anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-- in a separate case related to the riots for allegedly being part of a "premeditated conspiracy" in the violence.

Communal clashes had broken out in northeast Delhi on February 24 after violence between citizenship law supporters and protesters spiralled out of control leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured.