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Manu Sharma back in Tihar jail
PTI
Last Updated IST
Manu Sharma
Manu Sharma

32-year-old Sharma, whose two months of parole was to expire on November 22, reported in the jail at around 11:45 am, a top jail official said.

Sharma, who was released from jail on September 22 on the ground of his mother's illness, was reportedly spotted in a nightclub in a hotel here on Saturday night. His mother was seen addressing a press conference in Chandigarh last week.

Actor Arjun Rampal, who co-owns a bar in a city hotel, confirmed that Manu was spotted there.

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The reports triggered a major controversy with legal experts and opposition BJP alleging that he was granted parole under "political pressure" by the Delhi government, a charge strongly denied by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who said it was done within the ambit of the law.

Following criticism, the Delhi government asked the city police to investigate whether Sharma violated the parole norms by moving out of Chandigarh and paying a visit here.

Sharma should not have been present in Delhi as he was given parole under the condition that he will visit Chandigarh to meet his "ailing" mother, a top Delhi government official said.

"We have sought a detailed report from Delhi Police about whether Sharma visited the city," he said.

Rampal said Sharma apparently visited the bar as a guest of Sahil Dhingra, one of the members and owner of a leading apparel export company.

"We have revoked the membership (of that particular member) after we came to know that Sharma had entered the bar. We got to see it (his visit) because of the CCTV footage," the actor claimed.

Police came to the LAP bar following a complaint against Dingra, who allegedly picked up a brawl with the son of a senior police officer in the adjoining Ashok Hotel's F-Bar.

Dhingra was allegedly accompanied by Sharma to the bar. Sameer Thapar, vice president and managing director of JCT Ltd, was also present in bar and was taken into preventive custody along with Dhingra, sources said.

However, Sharma allegedly gave a slip to police by escaping from the bar through the rear door.

Thapar claimed he was about to leave the bar when police asked him to come out of his car. Police then took him and Dhingra to the police station. He said police were asking Dhingra whether Manu was with him.

Alleging that he was treated like a criminal, Thapar said he was not told why he was detained for about 12-13 hours.

Coming down heavily on Delhi Police, he said, "The entire experience that I went through was extremely harrowing. It's something they can do to anyone. It has left the worst taste in my mouth."

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(Published 10 November 2009, 14:03 IST)