NEW DELHI, Dec 18: An Indian court on Monday convicted the son of a ruling party politician for the murder of a young model in a packed New Delhi bar, bringing an end to a seven-year-old scandal.

Manu Sharma was convicted of Jessica Lal's murder by the Delhi High Court, just nine months after his acquittal sparked widespread public outrage.

Two other people were found guilty of conspiracy to murder and destruction of evidence, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

Sentencing will take place on Wednesday, the NDTV news channel reported, with the crime qualifying for the death penalty.

The case caught the attention of the Indian middle class, which was appalled when the accused were acquitted in February for lack of evidence even though the killing took place in front of scores of Delhi's glitterati.

After candlelight vigils that were widely covered by television, heated newspaper editorials and SMS text campaigns by top news organisations, the case was reopened.

“I am very pleased there has been a conviction. I think the Indian judicial system is waking from its long slumber,” Indra Jaisingh, a Supreme Court lawyer and social activist, told NDTV.

In April 1999, the raven-haired Lal was shot at close range in a trendy nightspot packed with the high-powered and well-connected -- designers, business people and the brat-pack offspring of New Delhi's “best families.” The prosecution alleged that Sharma shot Lal after she refused him a drink at the invitation-only restaurant owned by Bina Ramani, a designer and party circuit regular.

Sharma, son of a politician from India's ruling Congress party, denied the charge, saying he arrived after the killing of Lal, who was tending bar as a favour to the owner. Friends of Sharma were charged with harbouring him or helping to destroy evidence. They also pleaded not guilty.

Legal experts said police botched the investigation. The acquittal came after a string of witnesses testifying for the prosecution changed their stories.—AFP