Says prisoner Manu Sharma as he plays cricket at Tihar
Says prisoner Manu Sharma as he plays cricket at Tihar
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In action: Manu Sharmau00a0 at the Tihar cricket matchu00a0
PIC/MID DAY |
He might have played many sly games before he was finally convicted and sent to jail for the murder of model Jessica Lal. But on Monday, as Manu Sharma, one of the most high-profile prisoners at Tihar jail, captained his team to a draw at the Tihar Winter Olympic's cricket final, he followed the rules and enjoyed doing so.
Interesting changeA clean-shaven Manu Sharma, who had put on weight since we last saw him, spoke to
MiD DAY after the match was over. "I enjoyed playing cricket after a long time. I used to play when I was young and continued till some years ago. This was a good match and was an interesting change from our routine lives. Matches like this one should be organised more often as they keep the prisoners happy. Everyone is delighted at the freedom which they get to enjoy during such times," Manu said.u00a0
u00a0"I am a batsman but I scored only 12 runs today. I was bowled out. Next time, I'll play well," Manu added.
Jail daysWhile cricket saw him talking enthusiastically, questions about his days inside the jail dejected him. "There is no life inside a jail. A jail is a jail after all, what life are you talking about? What problems should I talk about?" he said, when asked if he was facing any problem.
Manu was the captain of the Jail No 2 team, according to the list provided by the jail authorities, but he did not receive the award from celebrity cricketers. Instead it was another infamous convict, Santosh Singh, in jail for the murder of Priyadarshini Mattoo, who collected the trophy on behalf of Manu.
