It has been months since the Delhi anti-Hindu riots wreaked havoc in the national capital. A coordinated and well-planned saga of violence that was unleashed by radical Islamists like Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others in cohorts with Leftists like ‘activists’ from Pinjda Tod and politicians like the several Congress leaders, student leaders, AAP leaders etc who have been arrested for the carnage. Even after the loss of life and property amidst chants of Allahu Akbar, propaganda websites like The Wire are still defending and trying to paint victim, those who are today accused of unleashing the violence after careful planning.
AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain from Nehru Vihar is among the main accused of planning and executing the Delhi Riots. He is also charged with killing Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma and sweet-shop worker Dilbar Negi, who hands and legs were chopped off before being burnt alive. Delhi Police found acid packets, bricks, and Molotov cocktails (petrol bombs), among other make-shift weapons that his followers used to attack Hindu crowds.
However, for The Wire, Tahir Hussain is an ‘activist’ who is at the mercy of the judiciary.
Sneaky propaganda by The Wire
Can someone imagine portraying alleged Delhi Riots accused like Tahir Hussain, Sharjeel Imam, and Umar Khalid as heroes and activists? The Wire did it and in a very sneaky way. In a report published on 13th November 2020 titled “A List of Activists, Scholars and Scribes Whose Personal Liberty Remains at Judiciary’s Mercy”, the portal portrayed every Islamist booked for Delhi riots as a hero.
The list contains names of so-called activists who have connections with armed Naxals, terrorist organizations and regularly indulge in anti-India activities. However, using Republic TV’s editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami’s bail as the background, The Wire has tried to portray these criminals as “victims of the system”. According to them, the “activists” are spending countless nights in jail because of the lack of “privilege” of prioritized hearing like Goswami has.
The curious love-affair of The Wire and Tahir Hussain
The Wire poured all the love and affection for the arrested Islamist Tahir Hussain and portrayed him as a hero. According to the portal, Tahir’s advocate described him as someone who got caught in a political cross-fire. “The allegations levelled against him were nothing but a political blame game to malign his image,” the lawyer had argued in the court.
Tahir was arrested for his involvement in the anti-CAA protests and riots. Later, Enforcement Directorate (ED) charged him of money laundering and funding anti-CAA protests. FIRs were registered against him by the Crime Branch and Dayalpur Police Station under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The Wire used the fabricated story of the Wall Street Journal, where they quoted Ankit Sharma’s brother being killed by Hindu rioters. The case against Tahir Hussain in the murder of IB officer Ankit Sharma was registered based on Sharma’s mother’s complaint. However, in the fabricated story, WSJ quoted Sharma’s brother Ankur saying, “Mr Sharma was returning home when a group of rioters started throwing stones and charged into the street near where his house is located. They came armed with stones, rods, knives, and even swords; they shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ [Glory to Lord Ram]; some even wore helmets.
Ankur categorically denied giving an interview to the Wall Street Journal while speaking to OpIndia back then. However, the report still exists with the fabricated quote and is often used by the propaganda machines like The Wire did in the 13th November report. Ankit Sharma’s dead body was found in a ditch. The images of people pulling him out of the ditch continue to haunt every Hindu. His hand-tied to the rope has become a symbol of systematic atrocities against the Hindu community in India.
Hussain planned the whole thing like a ‘pro’. He gave interviews to the news agencies before his arrest, stating he was a riot victim and not an accused. He even uploaded videos in which he was seen standing on his roof-top, claiming his community and house were being attacked. However, his videos were visibly edited, possibly using a green screen to add him to his property’s roof-top. In fact, in the charge sheet, he admits that in his disclosure statement that he made calls to the PCR to later claim that he was a victim and not the person involved in the riots. He gives an excruciating account of how he planned the violence amidst chants of Allahu Akbar and Nara-e-Taqbeer.
During the investigation, Delhi Police found evidence of his involvement in planning and executing Delhi riots. The Delhi court had denied his bail application while making significant statements against him. The court had confirmed that there was enough material on record to presume that Hussain was present at the spot of crime and was exhorting the rioters of a particular community. The court said, “He did not use his hands and fists, but rioters as “human weapons”, who on his instigation could have killed anybody.” Detailed observations of the court can be read here. Details of the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Hussain can be read here.
The buck does not stop here
Hussain is not the only Islamist glorified by The Wire as an activist. The portal has named the infamous student leader and long-time Islamist Umar Khalid as one of the ‘activists’ lodged in jail. The police arrested Khalid on 13th September. He is one of the main accused of the Delhi riots. As per the reports, Khalid had worked with other so-called activists and organizations to organize protests across Delhi and other parts of the country. He worked extensively with the likes of Yogendra Yadav and Sharjeel Imam to ensure there is enough rage against the union government for CAA and NRC. More details about his involvement can be read here.
Right before the riots erupted, Umar Khalid had also delivered a speech where he said that on the day Donald Trump arrives in India, Muslims need to send a message to the ruling dispensation. Like clockwork, the riots broke out right on the day that Donald Trump was in India.
Another Islamist is Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested on 28th January from Bihar. Imam made inflammatory speeches against India. He allegedly talked about cutting North-East states from India as a part of protest. Imam was wanted in Delhi, Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. He was present in several meetings with Khalid while planning anti-CAA protests.
Other Islamists named in the report are Meeran Haidar, Shifa Ur Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Siddique Kappan, Aasif Sultan, Ishrat Jahan, and several others. All these so-called activists and journalists are involved in causing distress in the country and often seen associating with anti-India organizations.
On Diwali, The Wire glorifies an Islamist like Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson
The Wire has habitually turned Islamists, terrorists and Naxals into heroes and it comes as no surprise that list published by the portal does exactly that yet again.
As the whole nation was gearing up to celebrate the most important festivals of Hindus, The Wire decided to rub salt on the wounds of Hindus that were inflicted during the Delhi Riots. They turned likes of Tahir Hussain, who wanted to teach Hindus a lesson, to heroes.
It is pertinent to note that Hussain had made some troubling revelations in his disclosure statement.
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’.