The Delhi Government, under severe attack for granting parole to Jessica Lall murder case convict Manu Sharma, today rejected the city police's claim that he was granted the benefit despite their adverse remarks, saying their report was "not clear".
"The report filed by Delhi Police was not clear and police are equally responsible for granting parole to Sharma," a top Government official told PTI.
Sharma was granted parole in September but he returned to Tihar jail on Monday on his own 12 days before his parole was to expire following mounting criticism that he violated norms under which he was granted the benefit.
The official claimed "no mistake was committed by the Delhi Government in granting parole to Sharma".
In an embarrassment to the Delhi government, the Delhi police have said that the high-profile convict was granted parole despite adverse report by police. Police said they found none of the reasons mentioned by Sharma in his parole application substantial.
The official criticised the police for not informing the government about Sharma's presence at a night club in the city on Saturday.
"They knew about his presence in Delhi on Saturday. Police saw him in a night club. Then why they did not inform us. Why did they tell us about it only on Monday. We could have cancelled his parole," the official said.
32-year-old Sharma should not have been present in Delhi as he was given parole under the condition that he will visit Chandigarh to meet his "ailing" mother. The official said a report was also sought from Chandigarh police before granting parole to Sharma. However, he refused to give details about the report submitted by Chandigarh police.
Sharma, who was released from jail on September 22 on the ground of his mother's illness, was spotted in a night club in a hotel here on Saturday night. His mother was seen addressing a press conference in Chandigarh last week.
