Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui
(This story was first published on 28 April 2018. It has been republished from The Quint's archives in light of Jessical Lall's sister Sabrina Lall's death.)
Jessica Lall's younger sister Sabrina Lall, who fought tooth and nail to get justice and see Manu Sharma behind the bars said that she has “no objection” to his release from Tihar Jail on 1 June. However, Lall added that she hoped and prayed that he will never ever think of repeating his actions from 21 years ago.
"My opposing or not opposing matters absolutely zero. All I said was, I don't have any objection. You know when reality hits you, it is not a happy or a good feeling. But what to do now? All one can hope and pray for is that he will never ever think, forget about doing anything like he did 21 years ago," Sabrina Lall said, speaking to The Quint.
Sharma was released on Monday, 1 June, on grounds of “good behaviour”. He was awarded life imprisonment for shooting 34-year-old Jessica Lall dead on 30 May 1999, after she refused to serve him liquor.
He was released after serving 14 years of imprisonment.
Lall also told The Quint that justice was served since he was convicted for his crimes.
“See the thing is that all fought together for justice. My basic concept has always been he should have been punished because they were all set free in 2006. So my thing was always that he needs to be punished and he needs to be convicted for the same. So he has been convicted, and to my mind justice has been served to that extent – so I don’t think people should feel bad about it or let down.”Sabrina Lall, Jessica Lall’s Sister to The Quint
Lall, however, stressed that she “hoped and prayed” that he had reformed.
“As I said, justice has been served. One can only hope and pray that he has reformed and doesn't think of anything close to this ever in his life again," she added.
A trial court had acquitted Sharma of the murder, but the high court, which later undertook the case amid nationwide outrage and protests, reversed the decision and sentenced him to a life-term in 2006. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence in 2010.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)