Being in accordance with the rules of the Supreme Court's order, actor Sanjay Dutt on 16th May afternoon surrendered before the designated TADA court at Arthur Road prison to complete the remaining three and half years of his five-year sentence in 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.
Sanjay Dutt was known to be found guilty of possessing banned weapons, an AK-56 and a rifle, during the 1992-93 riots and subsequent 13 lethal blasts on 12 March 1993 that rocked the city.
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) court's original judgement that he is not a terrorist was also upheld by the Supreme Court in its March 2013 judgement wherein the SC also reduced his original sentence from six to five years.
Making it as a special mention, a huge crowd comprising admirers and the media were known to be awaiting for his arrival outside the jail premises in the heart of the city. Sanjay was spotlessly clean dressed in a unexceptionable white kurta, a pair of jeans and a saffron “tilak” on his forehead while on his way from his apartment Imperial Heights at Pali Hill in Bandra (west), Dutt was known to have visited the Siddhivinayak Temple with his wife Manyata.
Dutt's two partners in the offence, Keki Adajania and Yusuf Nullwala who helped him destroy the AK 56, also surrendered in the same court as a reason that they too need to complete their imprisonment.
Arousing immense interest, an act of convoying 15 cars escorted by police vans reached Arthur Road where the wavelike crowd were waiting ahead to see him. Sanjay gave them salutations with “namaste” For 20 minutes he could not encounter from his Innova car while his friend producer-director Mahesh Bhatt, who was with him in the car, requested with folded hands to the crowd to make way for the actor since he was asked to present himself in the court before 4 p.m.
Following behind Sanjay surrendered, the court staff completed the paperwork. Dutt who envisions threat to his life at Mumbai's Central Prison, is likely to be taken to Pune and lodged in Yerawada Jail where he had finished 18 months of his total five-year sentence some years ago after which he was released on probation by the Supreme Court pending the disposal of his appeal challenging the conviction.
At Yerwada jail Pune, the actor will be lodged in a separate egg-shaped cell which is detached from other prison wards wherein the actor worked as a carpenter for which he was paid Rs 25 per day.
Before concluding, Dutt’s well wishers in the film industry were known to have visited him on Wednesday evening and on Thursday morning. Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, David Dhawan and Sanjay Gupta were in the midst of those who called upon him and wife Manyata.
It's really sad, even though being on the humanitarian ground it remains a fact!
Content resource: The Statesman
Image resource: Sanjay Dutt finally surrenders
(AW:Samrat Biswas)
