NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 21 In the cruellest moments of life, amnesia can be a relief.For years, Ajit Kumar Lall, 76, frequented the local courts closely following the case of his daughter Jessica Lall’s murder. But when the verdict acquitting Manu Sharma and others came today, he was unaware of it.Memories had frozen after a stroke in November 2002.‘‘Dad doesn’t know what has been happening. It will not make any difference to him if we tell him about the case. He will forget in a few seconds. He has only sketchy memories of the past. He knows that he had a daughter but does not remember more than that. He has gone through a lot... I don’t want to disturb him further,’’ says Sabrina Lall, Jessica’s elder sister, as her father paces up and down at their Gurgaon residence.

For almost three years, Lall kept going to the court but was stunned when prime accused Manu Sharma, son of Haryana Minister Vinod Sharma, was granted bail. He stopped going to court after that. ‘‘He said there was nothing he could expect now,’’ Sabrina adds. Tragedies did not end there. He lost his wife Kay to cancer in September 2002. He suffered the stroke two months later.

Malvika Aggarwal, a family friend, recalls the bonding between the father and the daughter. ‘‘Uncle was always very open to the idea of women going to work. He never wanted his daughters to stay at home. He always wanted his daughters to stand out,’’ she recalls. ‘‘Jessica being youngest was loved a lot by her father. He would always pamper her.’’