Jessica
killing: Venod Sharma's son main suspect
Tribune
News Service
NEW DELHI, May 1 —
The Delhi police had identified Siddharth, son of
Chandigarh UT Congress Committee chief and former Union
Minister Mr Venod Sharma, as the assailant who allegedly
shot dead model Jessica Lal at point blank range in a
South Delhi restaurant in the early hours of Friday. No
one has been arrested in the case so far.
"We have identified
Siddharth alias, Manu Sharma, son of Mr Venod Sharma, a
former Union Minister of State for Food and Civil
Supplies, as the main culprit," a senior Delhi
police official said Mr Venod Sharma’s family is
related to the former President, Dr Shanker Dyal Sharma.
Delhi police officials
said a team has been sent to Chandigarh to question the
family which owns the famous Piccadily cinema and the
Piccadily chain of hotels to trace the ownership of the
Tata Safari, used in the crime.
The police said two
persons were involved in the incident and they were
trying to establish the identity of the co-accused who
has been described as a "tall, bearded person."
Police sources indicated
that the bearded person is suspected to a grandson of a
former Punjab Chief Minister.
Well-known model and TV
personality Jessica Lal, who worked as a part-time
bartender at the posh "Tamarind Court"
restaurant on Thursdays, owned by well-known socialite
couple Bina Ramani and George Maloit, was shot dead by a
man who was allegedly refused drinks. Jessica was to join
a Dubai-based hotel as an assistant marketing manager
next week.
Owners of the restaurant
and other guests were not cooperating with the
investigating officers, the police claimed and added that
the even attempts had been made to tamper with evidence
by "cleaning" up the site of the incident.
The Qutab Colonnade
management have stated that at 2 a.m., two persons walked
into the restaurant and demanded that drinks be served.
The alleged killer seemed sober and composed. Several
guests tried to reason with him that drinks were not
available. When addressed by Jessica, he calmly drew out
a pistol and fired two shots, one at the ceiling and one
at Jessica.
The empty cartridge
recovered from the crime site suggested that the bullet
was fired from a sophisticated foreign-made .22 bore
pistol, the police said.
"The black Tata
Safari (CH 01 W 6535), in which the assailants sped away
had yet not been traced.
The getaway vehicle was
reportedly registered in the name of Piccadily Agro
Industries, the police said "Indications are that it
is still in Delhi or neighbouring areas like DLF Qutub
Enclave".
Meanwhile, the licensing
department of the Delhi police has sealed the
"Tamarind Court" and has suspended the licence
of the restaurant for "illegally" serving
liquor.
They said the restaurant
did not have an excise licence yet liquor was being
served. Questioning the guests, including top names in
the fashion world, indicated that there was no private
party on the day of the crime and all guests had paid Rs
100 as entry fee and the same amount for the drinks.
The police said the
culprits could not have fled had the 50-odd persons,
including well-known names in the fashion world,
including Rohit Bal, present at the restaurant, taken the
initiative to nab the culprits.
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