Jailed Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was turned away from Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail on Thursday after attempting to turn himself in.
Dutt flew from Mumbai to Pune following the completion of his 14-day-long furlough, which had started on December 24, but was not required to enter the prison.
After more than two hours at the jail premises, he turned away and was expected to return home to Mumbai late Thursday.
A government official had said that it was not necessary for him to go back to jail until a decision was taken on his December 27, 2014, application for extension of his furlough.
Dutt’s lawyer Subhash Jadhav told media persons that as a law abiding citizen, Dutt had returned to jail, but senior prison officials said he need not surrender until his application for extension was pending.
“We made the request for extending the furlough December 27 and it is still under process. As the laws stipulate that I must surrender myself if I am not granted the extension, I am doing it now,” Dutt said before leaving for Pune.
The 55-year-old, who is 18 months into a five-year jail term for illegal possession and destruction of an AK-56 army assault rifle before the March 12, 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai, had applied for the furlough in November.
During his leave of absence, Dutt spent time with his family — wife Maanyata, son Shahraan and daughter Iqra — as well as his string of friends from the Hindi film fraternity.
A special screening of Rajkumar Hirani’s controversial movie PK was also organised for Dutt, who also features in a cameo in the Aamir Khan-starrer. Dutt also welcomed the New Year with a party at his residence. His friends from showbiz and his family members were in attendance.
While in jail, he has lost 18kg and written “10 scripts”.
Dutt’s frequent demands of a furlough have oft raised controversy.
Minister of State for Home Ram Shinde had raised questions about the repeated furlough granted to Dutt and sought to know the status of such furlough applications by other prisoners and whether they had also been granted the same.
