Under fire for his government’s alleged special treatment to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt in granting him furlough, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said his government would adhere to the law and would not discriminate against anyone.
“Our government does not believe in discriminating or victimising anybody. The law treats everyone equally,” the CM said, adding that the 14-day leave from Yerwada central jail in Pune was granted as per law.
Earlier, the Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Council, Dhananjay Munde, demanded a probe into how the actor was still at large in Mumbai though his seven-day leave expired on Thursday.
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According to Mr. Dutt’s lawyer, the actor, who was supposed to surrender at Pune’s Yerwada Central Jail, returned on hearing Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde reportedly saying there was no need to surrender as the application seeking extension of furlough was pending.
Hitesh Jain, Mr. Dutt’s lawyer, said that Rajendra Dhamane, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons), Pune, too had said Mr. Dutt need not surrender, as he had cited “ill-health.”
“We have asked the Mumbai police to verify whether this is true, but have not received any response from them yet,” Mr. Munde said.
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Meanwhile, Mr. Shinde denied having made any statement that Mr. Dutt was not required to surrender. “It is incumbent on the prison authorities to decide whether he [Dutt] should be given an extension or not.”