New Delhi, Nov 10 (IANS) Manu Sharma, convicted for his role in the murder of model Jessica Lall, voluntarily returned to the Tihar jail here Tuesday following the raging controversy over the state government's decision to grant him parole for two months.

"He surrendered voluntarily before the Tihar Jail administration just before noon today (Tuesday)," a jail official told IANS.

"However, the decision on cancelling his parole has not been taken yet," he added.

Undergoing life imprisonment for murder of Lall in 1999, Sharma was granted parole on the ground that his mother was seriously ill and he had to attend to family business matters.

His parole was extended Oct 22 for 30 more days on Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's recommendation to Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna.

Last Friday, however, Sharma went partying in two New Delhi hotels - Ashok and Samrat. The Dikshit-led Congress government came under severe criticism for releasing Sharma on parole when news of this broke. Sharma is the son of a Congress politician from Haryana.

On top of that, on Saturday, his mother Shakti Rani looked hale and hearty when she was seen at the family-run Piccadilly Hotel in Chandigarh, holding a press conference about a women's cricket tournament.

Manu Sharma was in my bar - Arjun Rampal 

Actor Arjun Rampal Tuesday confirmed that Manu Sharma, serving a life term for the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lal, was in his lounge bar LAP late Friday when he was out on parole. The Delhi government has sought a police report on the incident.

"The close circuit television camera footage has shown that Manu Sharma had come to the pub along with one of the members Sahil Dhingra," Rampal, who owns the bar, told reporters here.

The CCTV footage has been given to the police.

Rampal said he has cancelled the membership of Dhingra, owner of leading apparel exporter Orient Craft, after the incident. LAP, located in Hotel Samrat in Chanakyapuri area, permits entry only to its members.

The police had come to LAP following a complaint against Dhingra. It was said that Dhingra had a tiff with the son of a senior police officer in F bar of the Ashok Hotel next door, following which he and Sharma went to the LAP.

The police picked up Dhingra from the bar, while Sharma managed to escape from the rear door. The police later picked many people including Samir Thapar, vice president and managing director of JCT. Thapar was detained for nearly eight hours before being released.

Rampal said: "Sharma is out for the wrong reasons. We do not want such people to easily enter anywhere. Such people are mentally ill and can do anything. We will now beef up our security."

Sharma had come under fire for his presence in the bar. After facing criticism from opposition parties and legal experts, the state government has asked Delhi Police to submit a report on the entire episode.

"We have been asked to submit a report," a senior police officer told IANS.