Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, has applied for parole yet again.
Dutt, serving the remainder of his five-year sentence for illegal possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle before the 1993 Mumbai blasts which killed over 250 people, applied for a 30-day parole to the office of the Pune Divisional Commissioner.
Authorities confirmed that they were in receipt of Dutt’s parole application and that it was being processed.
Controversy has dogged the 54-year-old actor’s frequent leaves and furloughs which have already exceeded three months of jail sentence, leading to allegations directed against the Yerwada Central Prison authorities of according Dutt “celebrity treatment”. From May 2013 to May 2014, the actor has spent over 118 days on parole or furlough.
Dutt was granted a 14-day furlough in December last year by the State prison authorities to enjoy the New Year with his family in Mumbai. After much drama, his pleas for an extension were rejected by authorities owing to widespread uproar.
Before that, the actor had taken a furlough twice, first in November 2013 on medical grounds for 28 days, followed by a leave of similar duration in January 2014 to tend to his ailing wife Manyata.
