Jessica Lal murder: I have forgiven Manu Sharma; it's okay if he walks free, says sister Sabrina

Sabrina Lal, in a letter to the welfare officer of Tihar Jail in New Delhi, has said that she has forgiven her sister’s killer, Siddharth Vashishta alias Manu Sharma, who has been serving his life term since 2006.

The Tihar jail had sent a letter to Sabrina regarding financial assistance from the victim welfare fund. Not only did she deny the compensation, insisting that it be given to someone “who is more in need”, she also added that Manu Sharma has been doing good work in the jail during his term there and that it is a reflection of reform. She was also quoted by ANI as saying that it was okay if Manu Sharma walks free, considering he has been in jail for almost 15 years.

Manu Sharma, son of former Union Minister Venod Sharma, was convicted by the Delhi High Court in 2006 for killing model and celebrity bartender Jessical Lal on April 29, 1999. Sharma had shot Jessica at point blank range when the latter refused him a drink at the Tamarind Court restaurant, owned by socialite Bina Ramani, in south Delhi’s Mehrauli.

The incident had elicited a pan-nation outcry with friends and relatives holding candle-light vigils seeking “Justice for Jessica”. After evading law enforcement for six years and turning a couple of witnesses hostile, the high-profile case concluded with Manu Sharma being convicted of murder in 2006 and awarded life term for the same. In 2010, the Supreme Court had upheld the verdict of the Delhi High Court.

During his jail term, Sharma has been associated with an NGO that provides rehabilitation to prison inmates and their children. He has extended help to the children of prisoners by providing for education fees and funds for uniform, books and stationery.