Jessica Lal Biography 
Jessica Lal was a 34 year old model from Delhi who gained nationwide attention soon after she was shot dead at an unlicensed bar by Manu Sharma, the son of Venod Sharma, an influential congress politician from Delhi. The incident received huge media coverage as well as public pressure, when the politician with the help of his money and power influenced its key witnesses.
Though the incident happened in the midst of a huge crowd at a night party, none came forward stating that he is a witness. However the film actor cum model, Shayan Munshi who was at the bar counter when Lall was shot dead became its sole witness. It was on the basis of Munshi's statement that police had lodged an FIR. But he later told in the court that the shot which hit Lall was fired by some other person. He was declared a liar by the Delhi High Court and now he is facing its perjury charges. In the ensuing trial, Manu Sharma and his friends were acquitted on 21 February 2006. But with immense media pressure and public attention, the persecution appealed and further procedures were conducted on a fast track. Manu Sharma was found guilty of having murdered Lal and he was sentenced to life imprisonment on 20 December 2006.
On 29 April 1999, Jessica Lal was working in the unlicensed bar when the unfortunate incident occurred. At midnight the bar stopped service due to shortage of liquor. At around 2 pm, Manu Sharma reached with his three friends and asked to serve liquor. When Jessica refused to serve liquor, he fired twice using a 0.22 calibre pistol. The second bullet pierced Jessica’s head resulting in her death. The incident gained huge attention as the politician’s son killed a girl in the midst of a huge crowd for a simple reason. In 2011, a Bollywood movie – No one killed Jessica was released. The movie was based on the incident and it became the first commercial hit of Bollywood in the recent times, without any lead male actor. Rani Mukherji and Vidya Balan played the lead roles.
Published: N/A
Updated: May 13, 2014
