Mumbai: From star-class comfort, Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt returned to jail on Tuesday after the Special Tada court sentenced him to six years' rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Barrack No 10 of the high-security Arthur Road Jail will be actor Sanjay Dutt's address for at least the next few days. Dutt is being held in a cell in the same building as gangster Abu Salem, who had allegedly supplied Dutt a consignment of weapons and ammunition 14 years ago, sources said.
The 48-year-old star, convicted for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and a 9mm pistol, and fellow convict Yusuf Nalwalla will be kept in two separate cells in the one-storey building.
Many prisoners gathered at the windows of their cells to catch a glimpse of the actor as he was being brought into the prison. There are a total of six cells in barrack No 10 and each cell usually houses three prisoners.
Dutt spent 16 months in two spells in Arthur Road Jail after his arrest in the blasts case in 1993 and this will be the third time that he is being held there.
After sentencing Dutt, Judge PD Kode of the special TADA court granted permission for the star to be supplied toiletries, clothes and essential items in the jail. Dutt's bedding and other items will be the same as those for other prisoners, defence lawyer Farhana Shah said.
He will initially not have to wear the white shirt and pyjamas sported by other prisoners and these might be provided to him at a later stage, she said. Dutt will also be not supplied any home-made food.
All the persons sentenced so far in the blasts case have been sent to prisons in other parts of Maharashtra, like the Yerawada Jail near Pune and the Nashik Jail. Dutt and Nalwalla made a plea to the court to remain in Arthur Road Jail, citing fears over their security. The judge will hear this matter on August 2 and till then the Bollywood star will spend his days at Arthur Road.
Before being taken into the jail, Dutt met his relatives and spoke with his daughter Trishala, who is studying in the US, on telephone for over 10 minutes before the call ended abruptly.
Nalwalla was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for five years and fined Rs 25,000 for helping Dutt to destroy an AK-56 rifle. Rusi Mulla and Kersi Adjania, who were also convicted by the court for helping Dutt dispose of the weapons, bade farewell to the actor and wished him luck before he was taken inside the jail.
Nalwalla and Dutt were taken to a barrack situated next to the one housing the TADA court and the mandatory process of recording their fingerprints was done. Mulla, who took the 9mm pistol from Dutt, was exempted from a prison term by the court under the Probation of Offenders Act.
Adjania, who helped destroy Dutt's AK-56 rifle, was given a two-year prison term and fined Rs 25,000. The court granted Adjania bail for three months to enable him to appeal in a higher court.
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