CCTV footage says went to LAP, F-Bar, and back

Days after creating ripples with his presence at a Delhi lounge bar while out on parole, Manu Sharma, serving life sentence for the murder of model Jessica Lal, surrendered at Tihar Jail on Tuesday — 12 days before his parole expired.

The surrender comes amid allegations that Sharma, convicted of killing Lal on April 29, 1999 at Tamarind Court Bar in South Delhi, violated his parole terms.

Sources at Tihar said Sharma arrived at 11.45 am and was lodged in same jail number 2. He wrote a letter to prison authorities, saying he has returned due to “personal reasons”.

He was allowed parole by Delhi government on September 18, later extended by a month on October 21.

A Tihar official said, “He has been in jail for eight years — a person is eligible for parole after serving five years in jail with good conduct. He applied for parole for the first time and got the approval.”

On Friday night, Sharma had gone with friend Sahil Dhingra, a businessman from Mehrauli, to the lounge bar LAP, owned by film actor Arjun Rampal.

According to CCTV footage timings, Sharma entered LAP (in Samrat Hotel) at 2 am Saturday as a guest with Dhingra and left at 2.06 am, an officer said.

He re-entered at 2.50 am and stayed for almost 15 minutes, the officer said.

In between, the two — alongwith Dhingra’s private bodyguards Harpal Singh, Vijay Yadav, Bhagwan Singh and Jaiveer Singh — went to F-Bar in Ashok hotel. The CCTV there did not record his presence, though.

... contd.