Furlough, and a back-door exit for Sanjay Dutt

The actor had applied for a 14-day furlough, which was granted on Tuesday.

Sanjay Dutt serving a sentence in Yerawada jail in a case related to the 1993 serial blasts, has been granted 14-day furlough. According to the jail authorities, Dutt will be released after the formalities are complete.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt who was granted furlough on Tuesday made a “secret” exit from Yerawada jail on Wednesday afternoon through a back door, purportedly to avoid the media present at the main gate though the jail authorities said a protest planned at the front gate of the jail by some outfits against the actor was the reason for avoiding the front gate.

They said the police had got wind of an agitation against furlough granted to Dutt.

The actor has been in jail since March 2013 serving part of his five-year sentence for illegal possession of arms in a case related to the 1993 serial blasts and was supposed to spend 42 months in jail as he had been incarcerated for 18 months earlier behind bars.

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He had applied for a 14-day furlough which was granted on Tuesday. Dutt is expected to be granted an extension of 14 more days.

Yerawada jail superintendent Yogesh Desai said, “He was released around 1 pm.”

Explaining the back-door exit, Desai said, “We had inputs from police that there could be a protest by some organisations at the main gate. That is why we took him out through the back door.”

There were no protests at the main gate from 6 am to 2 pm, when media persons were present. A jail staffer said, “One of the important reasons for the exit from the back door was to avoid the media.”

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From May 2013 to May this year, Dutt has spent over 118 days – either on furlough and parole and their extensions.

Dutt will watch a special screening of his latest release PK on Thursday. Dutt, 55, will be watching the film, in which he has made a special appearance, for the first time on Christmas. “He had not seen any cut of the film before. He also missed being part of the promotions. Now that he is out, he will be watching the film with the cast and crew at a preview theatre in Santacruz,” said a statement from the film’s production team. PK, starring Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma, released last Friday.

(With PTI inputs)

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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