Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt transferred to Yerwada jail in Pune

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was quietly shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail to Pune’s Yerwada jail on Wednesday to undergo a three-and-a-half year jail term for his involvement under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

The 53-year-old actor was taken from Arthur Road jail after midnight and was secretly transferred in a well-guarded operation to avoid media glare.

Less than a week ago, there was mayhem when media thronged outside Dutt’s home in Bandra’s Pali Hill as he left to surrender to the TADA court. Maintaining security was another reason for moving him in a hush manner. He was escorted by police at about 4am with three police vans accompanying him.

At Arthur Road, he was kept in the ‘Anda (egg-shaped) Cell’ in the high security block since May 16 after his surrender.

Dutt, who has already spent 18 months in jail, will spend the rest of the five years prison sentence in Yerwada. The Supreme Court in its March 21 verdict had reduced Dutt’s jail term from six to five years for illegal possession of arms.

The last time Dutt was in Yerawada jail, he was an under trial but now he is a convict and has to therefore wear jail uniform. He will be allotted a ‘qaidi’ or prisoner number which will be prefixed with letter ‘C’ for convict. He is expected to be lodged in a high security cell.

The court has allowed him to receive home-made food and has also agreed to his request to be provided with a thin mattress, pillow and medicines for a month. But it rejected his request to smoke electronic cigarettes in prison.

During his earlier stay at Yerwada jail, he had taken up carpentry but is expected to do hard labour this time. He is entitled to get a monthly allowance of Rs1,500 from his family to buy essentials from the jail canteen and will be allowed visitors once a month for just 20 minutes.

Yerwada jail, one of the oldest prisons in India, has housed personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi during the country’s freedom struggle.

Interestingly, Dutt’s role in the Hindi film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, is that of an underworld don who is the only person who can see the ghost of Gandhi. The film was a box office hit and rekindled the ideology of Gandhism.

At Yerwada, an optional programme is designed to spread Gandhian principles among prison inmates for one year after which they must appear for an examination.