Background
Haji Tahir Hussain was a politician associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a political party that is power in the states of Delhi and Punjab in India. He was an active member of the AAP and was a Municipal councillor of ward 59E Nehru Vihar at the time of his arrest. He was born and raised in a Muslim family in Uttar Pradesh, India. He completed his initial studies in his hometown Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, India. After schooling, he joined his family business of blacksmithing.
Life and Activism
Tahir Hussain was born on the 5th of October at Amroha in Hasanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He spent most of his childhood and teenage years with his family in his hometown Amroha. The life journey of this eighth-class drop-out crorepati is quite interesting and one would rarely believe that he left home for Delhi in search of livelihood. In 20 years, he prospered, and during the civic election 2017, he declared his total assets worth Rs 17 crore. 43-year-old Hussain was born in a low-income family. He had an insecure childhood and left home at an early age in search of a better life. During the initial days, he struggled a lot, but Hussain left no stone unturned to change his fate. He worked in furniture repairing shop. After learning the tricks of the trade, he started his own furniture factory and helped marginalized, poor, uneducated and less-educated people by giving them an opportunity in his factory. Being financially capable was not enough for Hussain, who decided to enter electoral politics. In 2017, he won the civic elections from Ward number 59, Nehru Vihar, which comes under Mustafabad Assembly constituency in east Delhi. In the 2020 Delhi Assembly Election, he helped the AAP get most Muslim votes. AAP suspended Tahir after his name appeared in IB staffer Ankit Sharma’s murder case during the Delhi riots.
Circumstances of Arrest
Videos of Tahir Hussain throwing sticks and stones from the terrace of his house went viral on social media during the northeast Delhi riots, with the Hindu right-wing ecosystem calling for his blood, alleging that he was involved in violence against Hindus. In a video released on social media, Tahir Hussain said that Hindutva goons attacked his house and he and people around him were acting in self-defense to save their lives. FIR was filed against him after the body of IB chief Ankit Sharma was found near his house. He filed a plea to surrender before the Magistrate, which was rejected and the Delhi police arrested him from the court itself.
Charges & Allegations
Tahir Hussain faces 11 cases with numerous charges against him. He is also booked in the larger Delhi Riots conspiracy case, in which the Delhi police have claimed that they have recovered arms from the terrace of his house. He faces at least two enquires by the Enforcement Directorate for money laundering to the tune of 3 crores. He has also been accused of terror funding and his bank accounts were also frozen.
Latest update
He has not got bail in any of the cases against him.