After partying on parole, Jessica killer Manu Sharma back in jail
New Delhi: Manu Sharma, the man serving life sentence for the murder of model Jessica Lal, returned to Tihar jail here on Tuesday, almost two months after being out on parole. Sharma re-entered the jail after generating public ire and controversy
for violating his parole terms. His return to jail came hours after actor Arjun
Rampal confirmed that Sharma was partying at Rampal's nightclub. The Delhi government
has reportedly asked for CCTV footage of the actor's restaurant - the Lap Bar
- and deputed some policemen to verify if Sharma, who was out on parole, was indeed
present at the bar. Sharma had stated his mother's illness and late grandfather's
last rites as reasons for asking for parole. Sharma's antics have caused a furor,
especially after Sharma's supposedly ill mother was seen attending a function
in Chandigarh. The last two times Jessica Lall's killer was caught on camera were
on February 2, 2007 when he had moved the Supreme Court challenging his conviction
by the High Court, and earlier on December 20, 2006 when he had walked into court
to hear his fate. Sharma had cited: 'Family affairs' as a reason to avail the
first 30 days of parole from September 22 this year. He said he wanted to perform
'Pind dan' or ancestral rites of his deceased grandmother, "maintaining social
ties with friends and relatives, to attend an aging mother and to maintain his
supervision of neglected business." Sharma was granted a further thirty-day extension
to attend to his business, where he is the MD and currently a major shareholder.
Sharma had clearly used loopholes in the judicial system to his advantage. Sabrina
Lal, Jessica Lal's sister has questioned Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's
reasoning for giving parole to Sharma.
