New Delhi:
In the midst of a gigantic controversy over his parole, the man who killed Jessica Lall, has returned to Tihar Jail, two weeks before his parole expires.
Manu Sharma reportedly did not discuss his decision with his family in Chandigarh. He has allegedly left a letter for his mother behind at their home.
On Tuesday morning, the Delhi government had reportedly decided to look into whether his parole should be cancelled, because Sharma visited a Delhi nightclub over the weekend.
"I was very close to Jessica Lall... I don't want the guy who murdered her in my club," says actor Arjun Rampal to NDTV. Rampal's club, LAP, is where Manu Sharma was seen on Friday night. (
Manu not welcome in my club: Arjun Rampal)
Manu Sharma was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 for killing model Jessica Lall. He was granted a two-month parole on the grounds that he needed to attend to his ageing mother, and his family business.
On Saturday, Sharma's mother addressed press conference in Chandigarh promoting a cricket match she helped organize. Many lawyers said this exposes Sharma's grounds for parole as flimsy.
However, Sharma's lawyer, Ram Jethmalani, pointed out that as a prisoner whose appeal against his sentence is pending in court, Sharma is entitled to parole. Critics retaliate that while the parole may be legal, it is offensive to see a prisoner using time off from jail to drop into a nightclub.
Rampal says that Sharma was allowed into LAP only because he was with a member of the club. According to Rampal, Sharma stayed for ten minutes at his club.
CCTV footage, handed over to the police, allegedly shows Manu Sharma at the nightclub. The Delhi police say it was alerted to Sharma's presence at the club after a fight broke out in the area. The police say Sharma was not involved in the fight.
Since Jessica Lall was shot dead in 2006, there have been repeated allegations, in court and outside, that Manu Sharma has benefited in the case from his father's political influence. Venod Sharma, a senior Congress leader from Haryana, just won his seat in the Haryana Assembly with a gigantic majority.