"Glad He Was Starting Afresh": Sabrina Lall On Sister Jessica's Killer

Jessica Lal was shot dead on April 30, 1999, by Manu Sharma, son of former Union minister Venod Sharma.

Sabrina Lal still remembers that night clearly, even though it was 22 years ago. "At half-past 12 that night, I got a call on my office landline saying, 'Come to the hospital immediately. Shona's hurt'," Sabrina said, recounting the fateful night. "Then, the voice, on the other end, uttered the words that changed my life forever - 'Your sister, Jessica Lal, has been shot.'" She fought a long battle to finally bring her sister Jessica's killer to justice. In an interview with Humans of Bombay, Sabrina spoke about the tragedy that changed her life forever. She said that she and her elder sister shared a "connection" despite a three-year age gap. "She'd feed me, tell me stories and sing me to sleep. We grew so close that I started telling everybody, 'I have 3 mothers now... Maa, Masi and Shona'." Speaking about the night Jessica was killed, Sabrina said, "On April 30, Shona dropped by my new office to wish me luck and invited me to Tamarind Court, but I had too much work. Before leaving Shona said, 'I'll be flying to Dubai soon. You'll regret not coming tonight.' I laughed it off saying, 'Maybe tomorrow.'"