Manu Sharma surrenders
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, May 6 — The main accused in the model Jessica Lal murder case, Siddharth Vashist, alias Manu Sharma, today surrendered before a Delhi police team in Chandigarh and was brought to the Capital this evening.

"With the surrender of Manu Sharma, son of the former Union Minister, Mr Venod Sharma, to a Delhi police team in Chandigarh, we have achieved a major breakthrough in the case," the Joint Commissioner of Police, Southern Range, Mr Amod Kanth, said here today.

Manu Sharma surrendered before a Delhi police team headed by Inspector, Mr Raman Lamba, at a guest house in Sector 21, Chandigarh, at around 11.30 a.m., about a week after the murder of ramp model in an illegal restaurant-cum-bar run by socialite, Ms Bina Ramani.

Mr Kanth said "police pressure and the raids conducted by the Delhi police at certain residences, business premises and other places frequented by him, left Manu Sharma with no option but to surrender."

Wearing a green T-shirt and blue jeans and with muffled face, Manu Sharma was brought to the South Delhi police headquarters at Hauz Khas in a white Tata Sumo from Chandigarh.

Even before mediapersons, who had assembled in large numbers, could ask any questions, he was whisked away for interrogation at the police station.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Mr Sudhir Yadav, said "Manu Sharma was handed over to the Delhi police team in Chandigarh by relatives of the former Union Minister."

Manu Sharma would be produced before a city court tomorrow, the senior police official said, adding that Vikas Yadav, alias Vickey, son of Rajya Sabha MP, Mr D.P. Yadav, remained at large even as police raided several places to trace him.

Meanwhile, a Delhi court today rejected the bail plea of Amardeep Singh and Alok Khanna and remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days.

Police sources said Manu Sharma was taken into custody by a Delhi police party when he came to see his paternal uncle in the guest house in Sector 21.

He was called to the guest house by his father’s brother-in-law, Mr Vinod Dada, after he had spoken to Mr Vinod Sharma who is undergoing treatment for hypertension at the PGI, Chandigarh, since Tuesday.

Sources said Manu Sharma telephoned Mr Vinod Dada, residing in nearby Panchkula to know the health of his father.

Mr Vinod Dada advised him to ring him back after sometime. In the meanwhile, Mr Vinod Dada contacted Manu Sharma’s father at the PGI, who reportedly advised that his son should surrender to the police.

When Manu Sharma telephoned his father’s brother-in-law after sometime, the latter asked him to meet him at the guest house. When Manu Sharma reached the guest house, he was taken into custody by the Delhi police party, which was already there, sources added.

Mr Kanth had said yesterday that Mr Venod Sharma, who was questioned by Delhi police on Saturday regarding whereabouts of his son, had left the Capital ignoring their direction. However, during his questioning, Mr Venod Sharma had told police that he would try to "get Manu around".

Senior officials said that the police had conducted raids at Chandigarh, Delhi, Solan, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Karnal, Jabalpur, Badaun, Ghaziabad and Noida to apprehend them.

The Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr V.K. Khanna, today rejected their bail plea and remanded Amardeep Singh and Alok Khanna, in judicial custody till May 20 after they refused to undergo test identification parade (TIP).

"In totality of facts and circumstances I do not deem it fit to grant them bail," Mr Khanna said in his order.

The two were produced before Mr Khanna after they refused to undergo TIP before another Metropolitan Magistrate, Mr Rajnish Kumar.

Advancing arguments on behalf of the accused, counsel I.U. Khan said his clients should be granted bail as the offences for which they were charged with were bailable in nature.

Mr Khan said as per the allegations their role came to picture after the commission of offence and if they were booked for the above charges, many others present at the time of the commission of offence should also be booked.

Opposing their bail plea, the prosecution said the investigations were at an initial stage and the exact nature of their offence was yet to be ascertained.

Sources indicate that Manu Sharma allegedly shot Jessica at point blank range not for refusing to provide drinks but for her refusal to accompany him for a ride.

Was it surrender or arrest
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, May 6 — Who is correct about Manu Sharma' s surrender or nabbing? While intelligence and family sources say Manu Sharma, a son of Mr Venod Sharma, surrendered in a Sector 21 guest house here this afternoon, the Chandigarh Police says Manu was arrested from Jalandhar and a party of the Delhi Police stopped en route in Chandigarh for 10 minutes only.

According to sources, Manu, a suspect in the now famous Jessica Lal murder case, was wearing a green T-shirt and blue jeans when he surrendered before a party of the Delhi Police camping in the Patiala Tourist Guest House in Sector 21-A, here. He was immediately whisked away to Delhi in a white coloured Tata Sumo accompanied by a lawyer, whose name has been given as Mr Ghai.

At the time of surrender Manu was accompanied by Mr Venod Sharma's brother-in-law, Mr Vinod Dada, a Panchkula-based business man. According to family sources Manu Sharma had contacted Mr Vinod Dada last night and enquired about the health of his father. He had read in some newspapers about his father's admission to the PGI. Mr Dada reportedly asked Manu to get in touch with him the next morning ( today).

Mr Dada then contacted the ailing Mr Venod Sharma in the PGI , who asked him to coax Manu Sharma into surrendering . Mr Dada called Manu to a guest house in Sector 21 saying they could talk privately. At the guest house a party of the Delhi Police was in waiting. Mr Dada asked Manu to surrender that was kept a closely guarded secret and no one, not even the Chandigarh Police , was informed.

On the other hand , Mr Baldev Singh, SP, City, said Manu Sharma was arrested in Jalandhar by a party of the Delhi Police. The party then brought him to the Sector 9 residence of Mr Venod Sharma, where three diaries supposed to belong to Manu Sharma were picked up. The team left within 10 minutes. The Chandigarh Police was not informed, he added.

Meanwhile the news of the surrender sent local reporters scampering for the exclusive quote or exclusive shot. It was a hunt all over the city and in the courts as it was being speculated that Manu Sharma would be produced in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM).