Police trace Manu8217;s route and stopovers

NEW DELHI, May 9: Manu Sharma is once again in Chandigarh. But this time in the custody of a four-member team of Delhi policemen, who are...

NEW DELHI, May 9: Manu Sharma is once again in Chandigarh. But this time in the custody of a four-member team of Delhi policemen, who are trying to recover the .22 bore pistol with which he allegedly shot model Jessica Lal in Bina Ramani8217;s Qutab Colonnade on April 30.

Manu, who surrendered before the Delhi Police on May 6, is in their custody till May 12.

8220;We have two more days left to verify whatever he has said regarding his whereabouts when he was on the run, the people he met and the person who now has his weapon. It was natural that we started this from Chandigarh,8221; says Additional DCP south Vivek Gogia.

Another senior officer associated with the investigation says the four-member police team, escorting Manu, will be joined by another team, camping in Chandigarh for the past nine days. There, the investigators will visit Manu8217;s father Venod Sharma8217;s business establishments and question members of the family and employees. 8220;We are especially interested in a manager with the Piccadily group, whom Manu had called up a day after the murder and who had helped him get in touch with Titu in Delhi,8221; the officer said.

Manu has reportedly told the police that Titu, also a resident of Chandigarh, works with a business concern in the United States had taken his .22 pistol, promising to hide it in a safe place8217;. Currently, the Delhi Police have no clue about Titu8217;s whereabouts, some of them suspect he could have fled to the United States. 8220;We are trying our best to recover the pistol, it is the most crucial piece of evidence against Manu,8221; said an officer.

After Chandigarh, the Delhi police team plans to visit Panchkhula, Karnal, Ambala and several other neighbouring areas, where Manu has said he took shelter when he was on the run.

8220;We suspect that he did not walk into strangers8217; homes. All of the persons who gave him shelter probably were relatives or friends. What we are trying to find is whether they did so, knowing that Manu had killed Jessica and was evading the police,8221; says another senior officer. Sources add that the present list of such suspects includes three more of Manu8217;s friends.

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Says Joint Commissioner southern range Amod Kanth: 8220;We may arrest more people if we find they had helped Manu, knowing what he had done.8221;

The trip across the countryside spread between several towns in Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab follows Manu8217;s reported confession to the Delhi Police that he had shot dead the model as he was 8220;not in his senses8221;. And that he had escaped thereafter, believing that he wouldn8217;t be identified.

After his surrender, Manu reportedly told the Delhi Police that he had been hiding in Delhi on April 30 and May 1, after which he left for Ambala, Panchkhula and several other places before surrendering to the Delhi Police on May 6.