Special prayers were offered at Chandigarh's biggest church in Sector 19 on Sunday morning after Siddhartha Vashishtha, alias Manu Sharma, who is serving a life term for the murder of ramp model Jessica Lall, donated Rs.50 lakh (5 million) to the Missionaries of
Charity.
The money was donated to the Missionaries of Charity for setting up a physiotherapy unit, education and medical assistance and carrying out repairs at the Mother Teresa Home in Chandigarh.
"A special prayer was offered for the well-being and good health of Siddhartha Vashishtha alias Manu Sharma who generously made a donation of Rs.50 lakh for the poor and handicapped people of society at Chandigarh's Mother Teresa Sisters," Father Thomas Anchanikal, Parish priest and Vicar General of the Christ the King Cathedral in Chandigarh, said on Sunday.
Family sources of Manu Sharma said that the donation had been made by him as a "repentance" for his earlier actions. He also sponsored a community lunch at the Christ Church in Chandigarh's Sector 18 on Sunday.
Lall was shot dead by Sharma at the Tamarind Court restaurant owned by socialite Bina Ramani in south Delhi's Mehrauli area. He was awarded life imprisonment by the high court in December, 2006. The life term was upheld by the Supreme Court last year.