In a day of high drama, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, did not return to Pune’s Central Prison till Thursday evening, even hours after the expiry of the 14-day parole period.
Though he had left Mumbai for Pune by road to surrender before the prison authorities, Sanjay did not show up at the Yerwada jail till the evening. Instead, the actor headed back to his residence in Mumbai.
Eyewitness accounts said that though he was very much in the vicinity of the Yerwada prison, the actor chose not to enter the prison after having been reportedly assured by the State prison administration that his request for extension of leave was under consideration.
Though there was speculation all through the day that a Minister in the BJP-led saffron alliance Government had assured him that he need not have to return to the jail after the expiry of his 14-day parole, there was no confirmation that such assurance had indeed been given to him.
later in the evening, Sanjay’s lawyer Hitesh Jain —in a statement made after the return of the actor to his residence – said: “Sanjay Dutt reached Pune jail along with my colleague this afternoon when there was a news flash that the Minister concerned has made a statement that since the application seeking extension of parole is pending, he (Dutt) does not require to surrender”.
“If there is no word from the prison authorities in the next 24 hours, my client will return to the prison on Friday,” Jain said.
On his part, Rajendra Dhamane, Deputy Inspector General (prisons), Pune, said: “Sanjay Dutt cited ill health as reason for extension of parole. We asked the Mumbai Police to verify if the reason cited by the convict is true”.
However, the Mumbai police said that they had not received any communication from prison authorities to verify anything pertaining to the actor.
Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde, who was reportedly quoted as sayng that the actor need have to go back to the prison at this stage as his application for extension of leave was under consideration, distanced himself from the controversy, by saying:
“The DIG Prisons, Pune, has not taken a decision on the extension of the actor’s furlough as yet. It is upto the authorities to decide whether he should be given an extension or not. If he gets it, fine. If he doesn’t, he will have to go back to jail”.
In the normal course, 55-year-old Sanjay, who was granted 14-day furlough on December 24 on his request that he wanted to be with his family during the year-end and early days of 2015, was to have returned to the prison on Thursday. He had however applied for a further extension in his parole his lawyer Hitesh Jain.
With the grant of latest 14-day parole, Sanjay has managed to stay out of the prison four and a half months ever since he surrendered before a designated TADA court in Mumbai on May 16, 2013 to serve the remaining42 months’ jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.