Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday, 2 March, announced a compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the Intelligence Bureau official Ankit Sharma, who was killed in violence that broke out in northeast Delhi.
“The country is proud of him. The Delhi government has decided to award a compensation of 1 crore to his family members and it will also provide a job to one person in his family. May his soul rest in peace,” Kejriwal tweeted.
The body of the 26-year-old was found in northeast Delhi’s Chand Bagh area on Wednesday, 26 February, news agency ANI reported. His body was reportedly recovered from a drain in the locality.
Earlier, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that Sharma’s death was “such a tragic loss of life” and said it is “so painful to watch people of Delhi suffering”.
Delhi High Court has expressed concern, calling Sharma’s death “very unfortunate.” It has also asked “highest functionaries in the state and central government to personally meet the victims and their families,” reports ANI.
Citing police sources, PTI reports that Sharma may have been killed in stone pelting during violence reported in Chand Bagh over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). However, there is no official confirmation on the cause of Sharma’s death.
According to journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, Sharma was under training since 2017 and was a Security Assistant in the Intelligence Bureau. (IB) His body has been taken to the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for an autopsy.
‘Can’t Live Without Him’: Mother of Officer Inconsolable
Sharma's father Devendra, who also works with the Intelligence Bureau, said he returned home around 5.30 pm on Tuesday and soon after left to assess the situation outside, according to PTI.
However, for hours, he did not return.
"When he didn't return, we started looking for him. We also went to the GTB and LNJP (Lok Nayak Jai Prakash) hospitals to check whether he was admitted, but could not find him,” he said, according to PTI.
"We kept searching him till 3 am on Wednesday. Later around 10 am, we got information that his body was lying inside the Chand Bagh drain. We never thought that he will be killed," he said.
Sharma's mother Sudha was inconsolable and said she never thought "destiny would be so cruel to her".
“I can’t live without him,” Sudha said repeatedly as relatives and friends tried to console her.
Sharma's brother Ankur said some women from their colony informed them in the morning that they saw people throwing his brother in the drain, PTI reported.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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