Dutt walks out of jail in style

Actor Sanjay Dutt on Thursday bowed and touched the ground, saluted the Tricolour, smiled at jail staff and cops, waved at fans as he walked out of the Yerawada central prison in Pune.

“It’s not an easy walk to freedom, my friends… I am here because of your (fans) support,” the 56-year-old said in his first reaction to freedom after completion of a five-year-jail term he got for possessing an AK-56 assault rifle that was part of the consignment of arms and ammunition that landed in Mumbai ahead of the March 12, 1993, serial blasts.

Sporting blue jeans and a trademark dark-blue shirt with a tilak on his forehead, Dutt was seen walking out of the main gate of the prison accompanied by prison staff.

The formalities of his release started at 7 am with the actor signing books and getting the release certificate from jail authorities. He also met some of the inmates and thanked the prison officials and staff. At 8:40 am, he came out of the gate and was received by his wife Manyata and family friend Rajkumar Hirani. He waved at the battery of mediapersons and fans, shook hands with some Bollywood friends, spoke briefly to press and headed straight to the Pune airport where a chartered plane waited for them.

After landing in Mumbai, he went straight to the Siddhivinayak temple at Prabhadevi and invoked the blessings of Lord Ganesha and then headed further south towards Marine Lines where he visited the Bada Kabrastan  and prayed at the grave of his mother Nargis Dutt.

At around, 1:30 pm he reached Imperial Heights at Pali Hill in Bandra where fans and friends garlanded him. He had to be escorted inside his house. After bonding with family members, he came out for a photo with his wife at 2:50 pm and then spoke to mediapersons.

“After 23 years of struggle, I am happy that the wait has come to an end... I know it will take some time for me to convince myself that I am free. Today is my day of freedom, I have been praying for this,” said Dutt as wife Manyata stood by his side. Their twin kids Shahraan and Iqra also joined them.