Crime:Jessica Murder Case; Missing Links

Though the main accused Manu Sharma has confessed to the crime, the police case against him has too many holes to stand in court.

Two weeks after the murder of Jessica Lall, the Delhi Police is still unable to swing things its way. The main accused, Manu Sharma, who allegedly shot dead the model at socialite Bina Ramani's Qutab Colonnade restaurant in the early hours of April 30 has been arrested. So have three others who accompanied him and saw him pull the trigger. Yet the police can hardly be said to have a water tight case.

The murder weapon, a .22 bore revolver with which Manu allegedly fired at Jessica -- a vital piece of evidence -- still remains untraced. While he was on the run, Manu is believed to have handed it over to Ravinder Sudan alias Titu, 45, once a manager at a hotel run by the Sharmas and a close confidant of Manu's father, Venod Sharma. Titu, an NRI, has given the police the slip and is believed to be in the US -- he runs a restaurant in New York. Despite an Interpol alert, little is known about his whereabouts. There is also the possibility that Manu may have handed over the weapon to another person in Chandigarh who oversees the operations of the Sharmas' hotels. He too is being questioned. The gun could even have been thrown in a river and may have been lost for ever.

Another factor causing much anxiety to the police is that no blood stains were found at the scene of the crime. This is one evidence which could have made a difference to the investigation. Even though the police maintain that "certain evidence of certain value was removed deliberately", no one has been arrested on charges of destruction of evidence either. Under section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, anyone found guilty of "causing disappearance of evidence, giving false information to screen offender" can face up to death penalty.

The Police now say they are not holding the Ramanis responsible for ordering the cleaning of the premises including blood stains after the incident. According to the police, Bina Ramani had tried to grab Manu as he rushed out after the incident and when he pulled away made her husband Georges chase him into the darkness. Also the Ramanis are the prosecution's star witnesses. However, the police in order to build the case have to explain the lack of evidence at the scene of the crime by charging someone for tampering with the evidence, otherwise the case against Manu may not stand legal scrutiny.

Also missing is Vikas Yadav, son of Rajya Sabha member D.P. Yadav. Vikas is believed to have been with Manu when Jessica was killed. The police have been unable to locate him, though they quizzed his father amidst high drama at a south Delhi police station where he came with a posse of nearly 200 supporters in a fleet of cars and jeeps.

The police can, however, claim credit for the arrest of Amit Jhingan, a south Delhi businessman who came to the party with Manu and witnessed the incident but did not report it.

A lot else happened during this period. In full media glare, Ramani, her daughter Malini and husband Georges Mailhot were arrested, presented at the Patiala House courts in a case relating to excise violations and released on bail within minutes.

With the missing links, how sound is the police case? "Still very good," says Amod Kanth, joint commissioner of police overseeing the investigation. "We have enough to prove the event, we have the killer, we have his confession, we have key witnesses on record and we have empty and live cartridges recovered from the spot and from a jeep that he later abandoned."

The police are also upbeat because Bina Ramani, the key witness to the incident, has identified Manu. The Ramanis who have come under intense media and public scrutiny in the last few days are said to be cooperating. Kanth's confidence is good news, but when the media hype over the incident dies out, the case will have to stand on the strength of investigation and the evidence gathered. It may not be so easy. He is up against some of the best criminal lawyers in the country, who can blow even a good case to smithereens in court. So far this one has too many holes for comfort.

GUN LICENSING
ARMING OF DELHI

The story is not apocryphal. About three years ago, an MP from Bihar applied for a gun licence but the Delhi Police rejected his application as they found several criminal charges against him in his home state. Days later, however, he was sworn in as a Union minister and was allotted the portfolio of minister of state for home affairs. He got the gun licence that he desperately wanted.

The antecedents of those like Manu Sharma, alleged killer of model Jessica Lall, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma and a relative of former President Shankar Dayal Sharma, are rarely checked. Often they are even overlooked. The gun culture in the capital is growing. Today, almost 53,978 Delhi citizens have licences. Of these 17,843 are government servants -- a majority of them ex-servicemen who wish to run private security agencies. Besides, the moneyed class wants self-protection; 13,683 businessmen, 534 private medical practitioners, 313 advocates have licences.

If you are an MP, procuring a gun is all the more easy. An MP is allowed to buy guns from the customs at prices ranging from Rs 1,000-10,000. Since 1996, 46 MPs have been granted licences. They included several, like the former Union minister from Bihar who had several cases pending. Records show that over 300 parliamentarians have been granted gun licences and all but 30 have bought the weapons. Common citizens are not that lucky. "We need to check this craze for guns, definitely far too many have guns for comfort," says Ved Marwah, former Delhi police commissioner. The law needs to be further strengthened, making it as difficult to acquire a gun as importing it. As the director-general of the National Security Guard, Marwah was not allowed to import a gun from Austria by the Union Home Ministry. "If we can be that strict for imports, why not do it for local buying as well," he adds. He has a point. The majority of the guns that are purchased -- .22 and .32 bore -- happen to be of foreign makes. They cost anywhere between Rs 1-2 lakh in the market.

The Arms Act, 1959, says it is obligatory to grant licence to any Indian citizen who applies for one citing personal protection. Refusal to grant it will be unjust provided the applicant has duly justified the reasons and adhered to the procedures laid down. All applications must be disposed off within 90 days; if not done, the applicant will be deemed to have been granted one. Those with criminal histories or facing police inquiries are barred from getting licences.

In the eyes of the law, everyone is supposed to be equal. The reality, however, is different. Manu is known to have used his licensed weapons more than once unprovoked -- enough to warrant cancellation of his licence. But that didn't happen. But licences of private citizens have been suspended -- 11 this year. Explains S. Nithianandam, DCP (licensing), who took over on May 1, "We get many applications but within the framework of the law we are trying to be as tough as possible while screening them."

There are two types of licences, for Prohibited Bore -- issued by the Home Ministry -- and Non-Prohibited (NPB)Bore -- issue by the Delhi Police. The NPB includes revolvers, pistols, guns and rifles. After a weapon is purchased it has to be submitted to the licensing authority whereby its number is verified and the credentials of the arms dealer checked.

Since January this year, 2,588 people have filed applications for gun licences in Delhi. Only 702 were issued. But the police admit that for every licensed gun, at least three unlicensed ones are sold -- procured from the unorganised sector that flourishes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Licensed or unlicensed, their owners have the power to kill.