Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, who was jailed for possessing a deadly Kalashnikov assault rifle that landed ahead of the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, will be set free on February 25, his spokesman said on Monday.
The 56-year-old actor is currently serving a five-year prison sentence and is lodged in Pune’s Yerawada jail.
“Contrary to media reports that have been doing the rounds giving various dates of his release, its confirmed that the actor will be released in the early hours of 25th February…The actor has served more than 50 months out of the 60-month sentence. A regular remission was granted to Sanjay Dutt by the authorities on account of good conduct,” a spokesperson of the actor said in a brief press statement.
However, no comments were forthcoming from the Maharashtra government or jail authorities, and they have neither confirmed nor denied the release date announced by his spokesperson. In the normal course, Dutt should have walked out of jail in May 2016.
A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in Bombay High Court last week, following reports of his early release, would be heard in due course of time.
Dutt was convicted in the March 12, 1993 serial blasts case for possessing an AK-47 rifle, which he later destroyed. The rifle was part of the consignment that landed ahead of the serial blasts, and was given to him by gangster Abu Salem. Justice P D Kode, special judge of TADA court which probed the case, convicted and awarded him a six-year jail term. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction but reduced his sentence by one year, to five years.
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