Delhi riots probe made further headway on Saturday with the arrest of five more people in connection with the murder of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma during the riots, said police officials.
Delhi police had arrested one person for Sharma’s murder on Thursday.
Those arrested have been identified as Firoz, Javed, Gulfam, Shoyaib and Anas.
Sharma was allegedly stabbed multiple times and his body was found in a drain near his home in northeast Delhi’s Chand Bagh area on February 27, a day after he had gone missing after Delhi riots broke out.
A man named Salman, also known as Nanhe, was arrested on Thursday for Sharma’s murder.
Sharma’s face and some other body parts had allegedly been burnt to conceal his identity. The IB staffer’s murder has been one of the most highlighted cases of Delhi riots that took 53 lives in the clashes within 36 hours, according to the Union home ministry.
Home minister Amit Shah told Parliament that a breakthrough in Sharma’s murder was made possible by video evidence shared by the residents of Delhi, one of which captured one of the accused assaulting Sharma with a knife.
“I am hopeful that the mystery behind Ankit Sharma’s murder would be unravelled by one of the video clips shot by people during the riots,” the home minister told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday evening.
Delhi Police had also arrested suspended Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain last week in connection with Sharma’s murder case. Police had also recovered locally made explosive materials from Hussain’s house. Hussain, however, denies any role in Sharma’s murder or fanning of riots.
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