Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt gestures after arriving at the special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities court in Mumbai to surrender, yesterday.
MUMBAI: Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt surrendered yesterday to face three-and-a-half years in jail for illegal possession of weapons, in a case linked to deadly bombings in Mumbai 20 years ago.
Accompanied by family and friends, the 53-year-old was greeted by a crowd of journalists at the gates of his home before travelling in a convoy of cars to a court in the city’s south, where another huge crowd swarmed around his vehicle.
Dutt was initially unable to leave the car because of the chaotic media mob that police struggled to control. He eventually entered the court with his sister and wife, and from there he will be transferred to jail.
Known as a Bollywood bad boy, Dutt was convicted in 2006 of possessing guns supplied by gangsters who staged the 1993 bomb attacks that killed 257 people, but he was freed on bail after serving 18 months in prison.
In March this year the Supreme Court upheld Dutt’s conviction but cut his jail term from six years to five. He was later granted four extra weeks of freedom to work on unfinished movies.
The court on Tuesday refused to hear a plea of a film producer who sought more time for Dutt to surrender so he could complete two films still being shot.
Analysts estimate about Rs2.5bn ($46m) are riding in Bollywood on the muscular star.
On Wednesday, Dutt withdrew another plea to give himself up in a different city, which he had made citing threats to his life.
Officials said Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail had received an anonymous death threat letter targeting the actor, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
After completing post-surrender formalities, Dutt was to be taken to the Arthur Road Jail later yesterday, officials said. From there he will be shifted to another regular jail either in Pune, Nashik or Nagpur.
Police officials were tight-lipped about the final destination but said Pune’s Yerawada jail, where he has spent time earlier, could be it.
Though Dutt’s lawyer had demanded that he be allowed home food, mattresses and blankets, medicines and electronic cigarettes and be permitted to meet his family and legal advisors among other privileges during his 42-month jail term, the Central Bureau of Investigation said he should be treated on a par with other convicts.
Special judge G A Sanap has permitted home-made food and medicines for a month while rejecting all other demands, including electronic cigarettes.
A string of Bollywood names visited Dutt’s home in the Bandra suburb before he turned himself in, while a Hindu rightwing group protested outside late on Wednesday demanding he receive the death penalty, reports said.
A heavy police presence stood guard by the residence and the court yesterday.
Dutt was acquitted in 2007 of charges of conspiracy in the deadly blasts, which also wounded more than 700 people.
The attacks were believed to have been staged by Muslim underworld figures in retaliation for religious riots in which mainly Muslims died, following the razing of an old mosque at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh state.
The father-of-three was found guilty of possession of an automatic rifle and a pistol, which he insisted were only meant to protect his family in the tense atmosphere in Mumbai following the mosque’s destruction.
Agencies
