From creating fake alibi to mobilising thousands of Muslims against Hindus, read what Tahir Hussain did in his own words
From the 24th of February to the 25th of February, Delhi burnt with perhaps one of the worst anti-Hindu riots that the country has seen in recent times. As many as 53 people were killed and hundreds injured in the riots that were planned, organised, masterminded and implemented with clinical precision by the Islamists. One of the main protagonists of the sinister story is Tahir Hussain, the AAP leader who spearheaded the Delhi riots in which IB staffer Ankit Sharma was murdered brutally by his mob and several Hindu properties were burnt to ashes.
The chargesheet pertaining to FIR number 114 focuses on the role of Tahir Hussain and his accomplices in the burning of several Hindu shops in the Khajuri Khas area. It outlines how Tahir Hussain planned and implemented the riots with clinical precision and specifically targeted Hindus and their properties in the area.
This specific chargesheet pertains to the burning of a shop called Aman e-rickshaw belonging to Harsh Trading Company on the 25th of February 2020. The complainant had said that he had suffered a loss amounting to at least Rs 30 lakhs when an Islamist mob burnt the shop to the ground and stole anything that they could lay their hands on.
The investigation clearly revealed that Tahir Hussain had instigated the mob on both the days claiming that Hindu people had killed a number of Muslims and had set their shops on fire at Sherpur Chowk and that the time had come to not let any Hindu go scot free.
In the chargesheet, several other details were revealed regarding the conduct of Tahir Hussain and how he organised and instigated the riots:
Tahir Hussain had planned the riots with Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi back on 8th January during a meeting at Shaheen Bagh.
There were several transactions from shell companies that were suspicious. The chargesheet details several such transactions from Tahir Hussain’s account that indicate that he had started receiving money to organise the riots. Some of the money was even routed through shell companies
Umar Khalid had assured Tahir Hussain that financially, Islamist outfit PFI (Popular Front of India) was ready to help in organizing the riots.
Police say that Hussain, who had deposited his licensed pistol with 100 rounds in the Khajuri Khas police station in January, got it released only on 22 February – that is, just before the riots broke out. The chargesheet says that during investigation, Hussain failed to give a satisfactory reply to the police regarding the release of his weapon. The chargesheet says, “Only 64 live cartridges and 22 empty cartridges were recovered at his instance. During interrogation, he could not give account of the remaining 14 live cartridges and 22 empty/fired cartridges, when and where the same were fired/used.”
During the intervening night of 24 and 25 February, Hussain had shifted his family to his parental house in Mustafabad citing safety, but continued to stay at his building “so that he could keep an eye on the whole situation and stand with the Muslims against the Hindus on the next day as per plan and criminal conspiracy”.
Tahir Hussain made several PCR calls as a decoy, to ensure that his involvement in the riots is not revealed.
Tahir Hussain had ensured that the CCTV cameras were turned off so the evidence is not recorded
While these details on their own are rather staggering and point towards a deep conspiracy to target Hindus, the Disclosure Statement which was narrated and signed by Tahir Hussain on the 5th of May 2020, in his own words, reveal a far more sinister design.
In the Disclosure Statement signed by Tahir Hussain, the AAP councillor confesses that during the nation-wide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, he got the information that there were going to be some rallies in support of CAA as well. After receiving this information, he met with others and hatched a conspiracy to “teach them a lesson”.
Further, Tahir Hussain confesses in the Disclosure Statement that per this conspiracy that he had hatched, he chose his own house as a launchpad for the riots since it was a high-rise in the area. Tahir Hussain says that he also chose his own house as a launchpad because, in his house, construction was already being done and hence, him collecting stones and bricks for the riots would not raise suspicion.
He confesses that he and his co-conspirators had started collecting stones, bricks and other ammunition, well in advance so that they could teach those who were in support of the CAA a lesson when the time was right. To that end, 2-3 days before the riots broke out, he had also got his licensed pistol released from the police station. While gearing up for the riots and collecting ammunition to teach Hindus a lesson, Tahir Hussain says that he had instructed his supporters to be “ready for anything and in every manner” and also ensure that all the CCTV cameras, private and government installed, in the area, were broken so the evidence of the riots could not be captured. It is to be kept in mind that all of this was done well before the anti-Hindu riots broke out in Delhi.
Tahir Hussain admits that he, along with his brother Shah Alam, Arshad, Abid, Shahid, Irshad and several others were present at his residence. His office space is also in the same building from where the riots were launched. Tahir Hussain then discloses that on the 24th afternoon, his mobs started chanting ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and ‘Maaro Maaro Kaafiro Ko Maaro’.
Further, he says that he was informed that Hindus had started killing Muslims and thus, he got enraged and told his supporters to get ready to teach Hindus a lesson.
However, this part of his statement does not add up. Most of the violence that came from Hindus took place on the 25th of February. Furthermore, it is pertinent to note that Tahir Hussain himself admits that he was planning the riots for a long time to teach Hindus a lesson. He had collected stones, instigated his supporters, told them to be ready and even got the CCTV cameras broken and got his pistol released. The investigation has also found that he was planning the riots since January. Everything known thus far points to a planned conspiracy being hatched to unleash violence against Hindus. Thus, Hussain saying that the violence started after a rumour was spread, makes little sense.
Tahir then says that on his instruction, his supporters reached the terrace of his house and started specifically targeting Hindus and their properties by hurling stones, shooting and throwing petrol bombs. Hussain had told his supporters that since his building is a high-rise in the area, they will not be hurt or put in harms’ way by any retaliation by the Hindus either. He further said that his brother, Shah Alam, Gulfam and others were also firing a pistol at Hindus.
Then comes the most clinching part that has been used by several Left portals like The Wire in an attempt to shield Tahir Hussain. NDTV and The Wire along with several other foot-soldiers were at the forefront of defending Tahir Hussain. Both portals had claimed that there are serious questions regarding the charges against Tahir Hussain since he himself had made several calls to the PCR and thus, was a victim of violence himself. The Wire had aired an “exclusive” interview with Hussain where he had claimed that he is a victim and is being targeted because he is a Muslim. Further, NDTV, accessing his calls to the PCR, had confidently claimed that these calls put a question mark on the charges against Hussain.
In fact, Tahir Hussain himself had tweeted a plea for help during the riots that he was engineering. This tweet was also cited by publications like The Wire to exonerate him.
While the entire cabal peddled the lies by Tahir Hussain to exonerate him of the murder of IB staffer Ankit Sharma and the riots that he had unleashed, Tahir Hussain in his statement has revealed the reason behind his calls to the PCR.
He says in his signed Disclosure Statement that according to his plan, he had made several calls to PCR and the Police officers from his own mobile phone to protect himself from taking the blame for the riots that he had engineered and to give himself an alibi. He says he knew that no matter how large the police force was, they would not be able to cross the Pulia because thousands of Muslims had congregated there. Moreover, the Muslim mob was pelting the police force with stones and bricks to ensure that they are chased away. He also said that the mob was burning Hindu homes on both sides of the bridge.
Essentially, the very argument being used by the ‘liberals’ to shield Tahir Hussain has been shattered by him in his Disclosure Statement.
Further, Tahir Hussain says that during the intervening night of 24th and 25th, he had shipped off his family (wife and kids) to Mustafabad to keep them away from harms’ way and took out his own pistol and kept it with him.
There are more shocking revelations made by Tahir Hussain. He reveals that during the intervening night of 24th and 25th, he joined a few police officials to patrol the riot-hit area and “pretend” to appeal for calm. He was doing so as a decoy so that during the patrolling, he could give signals to his supporters that he is still with them and that they shouldn’t be scared in their quest to hunt down Kaafirs.
Tahir Hussain returned to the area after dropping his family and patrolling the area at around 8:30 AM. However, seeing some police officials there, he left again only to return in the afternoon. He said in the afternoon, on his call, thousands of Muslims congregated near the Masjid. At that time, he saw that from the other side, Hindus had also started congregating and chanting slogans. This is the second day of the riot. When he saw the Hindus, he started mobilising the Muslim mob and started burning Hindu houses, pelting stones etc.
Hussain then mentions that even during the riots on 25th, where he was mobilising Muslims against Hindus, he used to slip out of the riots intermittently to call up the PCR and police to ensure that his alibi was solid.
Disclosure Statement signed by Tahir Hussain
Thereafter, Hussain absconded and was arrested on 5th March 2020.
Tahir Hussain, after explaining how he conspired to kill Kafirs, create riots and teach Hindus a lesson, ended his Disclosure Statement with these words:
“Mujhse galti ho gayi, mujhe maaf kiya jaye” (I made a mistake, I may please be forgiven).
The Disclosure Statement by Tahir Hussain is rather telling and proves that whatever was being reported at the time by portals like OpIndia stand vindicated. There are several other elements to the chargesheet that will be discussed in the subsequent reports in the ongoing series on the Delhi anti-Hindu riots chargesheets.