‘He is known to be doing a lot of notorious activities around the area’.
New Delhi: Neighbours and residents around the now suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain’s factory at Khajuri Khas say that they are not surprised that the name of Hussain has propped up as one of the main perpetrators of violence, as he is a known “muscleman” in the area, having clout in his community.
A resident of Chand Bagh where Tahir Hussain’s factory is located told The Sunday Guardian, “Tahir Hussain is a big muscleman from this area. He is the local councillor and has some good clout in his community. He is known to be doing a lot of notorious activities around this area, so we are not surprised that he could have led a mob and sheltered them at his factory to lead an attack.”
Multiple locals with whom The Sunday Guardian interacted said that most of the people who were indulging in stone pelting and violence were anti-social elements who were brought from Loni, Ghaziabad.
Naresh, whose daughter’s marriage preparations were going on right next to Tahir Hussain’s factory, said that he had seen Tahir Hussain present in his factory when hundreds of men were hurling stones and petrol bombs from his terrace, contrary to the claims made by Tahir Hussain that he had fled Chand Bagh during the time of violence.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Naresh said, “We were preparing for my daughter’s wedding here since 23 February. On 24 February, some 100 to 150 people came here and set everything on fire. They destroyed our food that was being prepared here, and set buildings on fire. I have seen with my own eyes that Tahir Hussain had led a huge group of men into his factory, from where they were throwing stones and petrol bombs at people.”
Naresh further added that he still remembers that Tahir Hussain was seen on the terrace of his factory with a sleeveless maroon vest and was guiding the rioting mob to throw stones and petrol bombs. The name of one Nadeem Malik, son of Meherbaan Malik, who is a resident of Gali number 22, Charbagh, just 1.5 km from Hussain’s factory, was given by multiple locals as someone who had participated actively in the riot. Locals said that he was a known bad-character of the Dayalpuri police station area and was seen wielding a gun on the day of the riots. The Sunday Guardian visited Malik’s house, but found his house locked. Another resident of Khajuri Khas, adjacent to Chand Bagh, said that it was Tahir Hussain who was responsible for the killing of Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and four others. The resident, who did not want to be identified, said that they had seen four people being dragged into the factory of Tahir Hussain and their bodies were later thrown into the drain nearby.
He also said, “If this was not a pre-planned attack, then how did petrol bombs in such large numbers reach his factory and the terrace? How did bags and bags of stones reach the terrace? Acid was also being thrown. So many of our friends from this area have been injured here because of Hussain. We have all seen how he was guiding the mob from behind.” Tahir Hussain has been accused of leading a mob into his terrace and guiding them on hurling stones, petrol bombs and acid on the people and buildings nearby. Videos have also surfaced showing hundreds of people standing on the terrace of Tahir Hussain’s factory, carrying out arson and indulging in stone pelting.
The area outside Tahir Hussain’s factory from where the attack was being led speaks volumes about the mayhem that was unleashed on those two days. The entire road is filled with stones, burnt houses, remnants of the petrol bombs and cars and small carts that were burnt down during the violence.
The factory has now been sealed by the Delhi Police for investigation, but a sense of uneasy calm still prevails in the entire area, with paramilitary forces stationed every few metres and residents not being allowed to come on the main streets.
Although Tahir Hussain has denied any link to the violence that has been perpetrated from his factory, he had said that he, along with his family, had fled from the area with the help of police for the fear of being attacked. The Delhi Police has, however, lodged an FIR against Tahir Hassan for murder, arson and rioting. The AAP which was earlier defending Tahir Hassan has also suspended him from the party after an FIR was lodged by the Delhi Police against him.
With inputs from Abhinandan Mishra and Pratyush Deep Kotoky.