Manu Sharma returns to Tihar 12 days before of parole expiry

Manu Sharma, serving a life sentence for murder of model Jessica Lal, returned to Tihar Jail today on his own 12 days before his parole expired after a controversy raged over alleged parole violation by him.

In a signficant development that lent weight to allegations that Manu violated parole norms, Delhi police sent a letter to the Delhi government confirming his presence at a night bar in a city hotel.

With its decision to grant parole to the 32-year-old convict coming under intense criticism, the Sheila Dixit-government also sought a report from city police asking whether he violated parole norms following reports about his presence at night bars and allegedly entering into a scuffle there.

Manu came back to Tihar's Jail No 2 at around 11:45am, though his parole was to end only on November 22, a top jail official said. Sharma was awarded life imprisonment for the murder of Jessica Lal in 1999.

A controversy erupted after Sharma along with a friend Sahil Dhingra was reportedly spotted at LAP Lounge Bar last week in violation of his parole norms which prescribed him to be only in Chandigarh.

Actor Arjun Rampal, the co-owner of the bar, said Sharma visited the bar as a guest of Dhingra, one of the members of the club. Sharma is the son of a Congress leader Venod Sharma from Haryana.

Chief minister Sheila Dixit said it "is good" Manu has gone back to jail. Asked whether Sharma will face any penalty for violating parole conditions, she said, "I do not know about it".