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Manu Sharma is an Indian acquitted along with seven other defendants on February 21, 2006 in the charge of the murder of Indian model and documentary filmmaker Jessica Lal at the Tamarind Court restaurant in Delhi on April 29, 1999 due to witnesses turning hostile and no forensic evidence available in the case. Not many people in Chandigarh are surprised at the acquittal of Manu Sharma, son of Haryana power minister Venod Sharma, because the family’s clout and money power are well known in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Till a few days before the judgement, 29-year-old Manu was seen attending parties in the town, and running his popular disco-cum-pub, Blue Ice, in Chandigarh’s posh Sector 17 market. He is a party animal and regularly organised parties in and around the town. Sharma family is known for manipulating and ‘managing’ things is evident from the fact that though Manu got into several brawls in recent years, the family intervened each time to prevent any case from being registered. A Congress councillor in Chandigarh said that a compromise would be worked out in most cases. Soon after he was released on bail in 2003, there was a fight between employees of Blue Ice and some customers; Manu too was reportedly involved, But eventually, he was taken out of the picture and the disco’s manager was booked instead. Sharma's acquittal has caused outrage in India with calls to the President, Abdul Kalam, for the case to be reopened. Sharma is the son of former Haryana Excise Minister Vinod Sharma . As far as the common man is concerned, it is a clear case of the brazen misuse of power and influence by persons in high places who know the art of buying/intimidating/cajoling witnesses and investigating policemen into silence. The circumstances are too shocking for words. The murder was committed in the presence of hundreds of well-heeled persons, including senior police officers. Very few dared to come forward to depose. The few who did turned hostile. The clout of the accused can be gauged from the fact that now even advocates give their opinion on the matter from behind the veil of anonymity.
References
- We didn't want Manu Sharma to hang, Rediff, February 23, 2006
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