Cops opposed Manu's parole, state didn't

New Delhi: Did the Delhi government give parole to Manu Sharma despite an objection from the police?

The Delhi Police now claims it had strongly opposed parole for the Jessica Lall murder accused.

Sources say the Delhi government had sought the opinion of the police before allowing parole.

In September, Manu had sought parole saying he wanted to attend his grandmother's first death anniversary, but the police had pointed out that Manu's grandmother had died in April 2008.

Manu had also claimed that his mother was unwell, but the police say they had pointed out that the condition of his mother was not so bad that it required his presence.

Manu's parole application did not even have a medical certificate attached to substantiate the claim that his mother was unwell.

Manu had cut short his parole and surrendered at the Tihar Jail on Tuesday, after he broke parole regulations. He was caught partying in Delhi after he got into a brawl at a pub with his friends.

His friend Sahil Dhingra and eight others were later arrested, but Manu managed to evade the police.

Manu was in clear violation of the parole norms as he had permission to be out only in Chandigarh.

The Delhi government had come under fire over Manu's parole, but he preempted any stringent action by surrendering before action was taken.

Delhi's Principal Home Secretary G S Patnaik said, "Yes, the Delhi Police did raise objections on the parole criteria, but they were mere notings and had no proper grounds. Also no reasons were stated. The Delhi Police should have approached us to cancel Manu's parole on Saturday itself, but we were apprised of the incident officially only on Monday."