Ram Jethmalani says Jessica Lall shot by tall Sikh gentleman

Jethmalani says in court that she was shot because she insulted the Sikh man's 'sexual manhood'

BY A CORRESPONDENT

10 November 2006
NEW DLEHI, INDIA

The Jessica Lall murder case has taken a sensational twist with Ram Jethmalani, the defence counsel for prime accused Manu Sharma, stating that Sharma did not shoot to kill Jessica. According to Ram Jethmalani, a tall Sikh gentleman had fired at the model.

Keeping everyone guessing, Jethmalani added that that he would reveal the identity during the course of the argument. 

It may be recalled here that the prime accused, Manu Sharma, had earlier confessed before the Special Investigation Team that he had shot Jessica. Sharma’s confessional statement was recorded by the police on May 7, 1999, a few days after Jessica Lall was killed. 

Sharma had at the time of confession said that he fired a bullet at the ceiling and another at Jessica Lall which hit her above her left eye. He went on to say in his statement that on the night of the incident he had reached Qutub Colonnade at around 11.30 pm along with Vikas Yadav, Amandeep Gill and Alok Khanna.

According to him, he went inside the restaurant and asked for more whisky, but was told by Malini Ramani, Jessica Lall and others standing there that whisky was over. Feeling insulted, he took out hs pistol and and fired one bullet at the ceiling and another at Jessica Lall which hit her above her left eye. Thus goes the statement. He had also said that he hid his pistol at a dhaba near the Delhi's Mehrauli area.

Now, with Ram Jethmalani stating that it wasn’t Manu but a tall Sikh gentleman who had shot Jessica Lall, the case has reached a point which nobody knows where the argument is headed for. It is now left to the cops who probed the case to prove the truth about Manu Sharma’s confession.