Sharma surrenders days before the end of his parole, even as Delhi government plans stricter parole rules
Sharma surrenders days before the end of his parole, even as Delhi government plans stricter parole rules
For Manu Sharma, the Jessica Lal murder convict, the jail seems to be much safer than the outside world where he keeps getting embroiled in controversies everyday. Maybe that's why on Tuesday morning, as Delhiites were reading about his involvement in an alleged brawl at Ashoka Hotel, Sharma was outside Tihar Jail preparing for his 'surrender'.
Sharma is serving a life sentence for murdering model Jessica Lal and was out on parole citing the ill health of his mother.
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Interestingly, reacting to newspapers reports, the Delhi government sought a reply from the city police enquiring whether Sharma had violated his parole norms with his presence at bars.
Sharma, along with his industrialist friend Sahil Dhingra, had a brawl on Friday night at LAP Lounge Bar, which experts say, is a clear violation of parole rules. "Sharma should not have been present in Delhi as he was given parole under the condition that he will visit Chandigarh to attend to his ailing mother," said a senior home department official, wishing anonymity.
According to the terms of his parole, Sharma should not have ventured out of Chandigarh where his parents reside. Son of Congress leader Venod Sharma, Manu had sought parole on the grounds of his mother's ill-health but his mother too was spotted attending political rallies.
On Tuesday morning Sharma returned to Tihar Jail and prison sources confirmed he had surrendered 12 days prior to the completion of his parole term.
Stricter parole terms
Meanwhile, the Delhi government is formulating new guidelines related to parole where an application seeking parole will have to be decided within 30 days. Sources in the government confirmed the files related to the new guidelines have been sent to Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna. The stricter guidelines will introduce stringent norms for repeated offenders, while providing benefits to needy ones. The police will have to complete its verification process within 30 days and will submit its views on whether an inmate could create any law and order problem during his parole. The final clearance of the parole application will be given by the chief minister and lieutenant governor.
The new guidelines were drafted on the orders of the Delhi High Court, which had asked the Delhi government to quicken the process of granting parole.
Parole trouble
Manu Sharma was granted parole on September 22 on the ground that his mother was seriously ill and that he also needed to attend to family business matters. His parole was extended on October 22 for 30 more days on Sheila Dikshit's recommendation to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna.
What they said
After reports of Manu Sharma's surrender in Tihar Jail surfaced, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said, "It's good that he has surrendered. I do not want to comment on this issue any further." Earlier, Dikshit had defended Sharma's parole, saying his application had been placed before the government as a
routine procedure and his parole was cleared by an authorised committee.
Delhi BJP Chief VK Malhotra said, "The incident has sent a wrong message. The case is clearly of using money power and influence. The matter should be probed and those who are guilty should be taken to task. It is clear he (Manu Sharma) has been helped by a number of people."
Jessica Lal's sister, Sabrina, expressed shock at the news of Manu being out on parole and partying.
"When Vikas Yadav could be denied bail and got only 10 hours in police custody to attend his sister's wedding, what was so special about Manu's plea that he got a month's parole and an extension too?" she asked, alluding to the murder of Nitish Katara.
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