Sanjay Dutt to walk out of jail today

 Nearly 23 years after he was arrested for possessing a AK-56 assault rifle and after serving a five-year jail term, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt would walk free from Pune’s Yerawada jail on Thursday - and it is going to be an emotional homecoming for the 56-year-old celebrity who is a veteran of 200 plus films and a dozen commercials.

With a little over Rs 400 in his pocket – that Sanju Baba, as he is popularly known, earned during his stay in the jail while making paper bags. He was also the RJ at the closed radio network of the Yerawada central prison, that houses more than 3,600 prisoners serving various duration of sentences.

The stay of the actor in the prison has been mired in controversies with the actor coming out of the jail at least half a dozen times after availing parole and furlough – and allegations that he was being given preferential treatment because of being a celebrity and belonging to a political family.

“Sanjay Dutt would be released tomorrow (Thursday) around 9.30 am to 10 am after completion of the necessary formalities,” U T Pawar, the Superintendent of Yerawada central prison, said on Thursday.

Pawar, however, refuted allegations that the convict has been given a preferential treatment. “The remission that he has got is as per the law and the rules mentioned in the jail manual,” he said.

Dutt’s third wife Manyata and their twin kids – Shahraan and Iqra, sister Priya Dutt and brother-in-law Owen Roncon besides a host of friends are expected to be present outside the high-security prison, when he walks out.