A teary-eyed Sanjay Dutt left for Yerwada central jail in Pune on Saturday afternoon after the jail authorities rejected the Bollywood actor’s request seeking a 14-day extension of his furlough from the prison where he is serving a 42-month sentence after his conviction in the 1993 serial bombings case.
Dutt was in tears bidding good bye to his wife Manyata, children Shahran and Iqra, sister and former MP Priya Dutt and her husband Owen Roncon at their Bandra residence. His wife and children wept silently as the actor left in his car for Pune after spending a fortnight with the family during Christmas and New Year.
Media blamed
Blaming the media for creating the controversy, Mr. Dutt said that he was not given any VIP treatment. “I request the members of the media not to create an unnecessary row over my furlough issue. I wanted to spend time with my family and had therefore sought furlough which is very much granted to a prisoner under our laws. The government, the prison department and the police are doing their job and we should not question them unnecessarily,” a visibly upset Dutt told the reporters outside residence in suburban Mumbai before leaving for the jail.
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When asked why other prisoners who have cited more serious reasons to seek furlough were denied but the authorities were ‘lenient’ in considering his case, Dutt rebutted saying he is being singled out owing to his celebrity status. “We should see all the cases with the same prism. Don’t target me just because I am the celebrity,” he added.
Earlier, the Mumbai police received a letter from the jail authorities informing them that Mr Dutt’s application seeking furlough application had been rejected. “We have received a letter from the Yerwada jail authorities asking us to serve the letter to Mr.Dutt. While the letter has not spilled out the reason for denying an extension, it states that the actor is required to surrender immediately before the jail authorities,” a senior police officer from the Mumbai police told The Hindu. A team from the Assistant Commissioner of Police served the letter to the actor on Saturday afternoon and Mr Dutt left for Pune jail around 2 pm.
Mr.Dutt who was granted furlough in the last week of December had moved another application on 27th December seeking an extension of 14 days on health grounds. A Furlough is leave from prison that every convict is entitled to by way of right. A prisoner is entitled to be released on furlough for 14 days in a year. However, he may seek a 14-day extension by citing reasons for it. For this, the prisoner has to submit an application to the prison superintendent.
The furlough ended on Thursday but his lawyer claims that when Mr. Dutt went to surrender before the jail authorities, there was a news flash quoting the minister concerned that Dutt doesn’t require to surrender since his application seeking extension of furlough is pending, this prompted the actor to ‘return’.
The jail authorities, however, claim otherwise and say that Mr. Dutt never reported at Yerawada jail on Thursday. The incident created a row and also exposed the lacuna in the system. To salvage the situation which had brought disrepute to the newly formed BJP government, the Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had tweeted on Friday that the government will strictly adhere to the rules while deciding on Dutt’s application.
“Our government doesn’t believe n discriminating or victimizing anybody. Law treats all equal,” the CM had tweeted.
“Since he had sought an extension on health grounds, we had written to the Mumbai police asking them to verify the details. We were awaiting their response and hence the decision was pending,” explained Rajendra Dhamane, Deputy Inspector General (prisons), Pune.
The Mumbai police, which initially denied receiving the letter, on Friday sent an adverse report that later led to the DIG prison rejecting the request for an extension, a source explained.
Meanwhile the state home department had ordered an inquiry to probe if any preferential treatment was extended to the actor in grant of furlough.
Another convict’s family extends support
Pune: The family of Zaibunissa Kazi, the 71-year-old convicted along with Sanjay Dutt in the Mumbai blasts case, feels that the actor was well within his right to seek a furlough and extension.
Both Dutt and Zaibunissa Kazi were convicted of hoarding illegal weapons and sentenced to five years in jail. Kazi was convicted under the anti-terror law TADA, while Dutt was held guilty under the much lenient Arms Act.
“I know many convicts who easily get furlough and extension back to back. Furlough is a right of the prisoner. I feel the media should not minutely monitor Dutt’s case,” Kazi’s daughter Shagufta Khan told The Hindu.