Dutt undergoes medical check-up at Yerawada jail

Pune, Oct 23 (IANS) Actor Sanjay Dutt underwent a thorough medical check-up Tuesday as he began his second stint at the historic Yerawada Jail here for his role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts.

The actor had surrendered before the special Terrorists and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court in Mumbai Monday afternoon. He was taken out of his temporary cell in the Arthur Road jail at around 8.30 p.m.

After that, the police convoy along with their celebrity prisoner raced their way at almost 130 kmph on the Mumbai-Pune expressway, dodging media vans to reach Yerawada around midnight in a record two-and-a-half hours.

And with Dutt's arrival, the hustle and bustle has returned to the prison premises.

According to police officials, Dutt is soon expected to start carpentry work in jail. During his last stay, authorities said the actor had shown interest in the skill.

Dutt's lawyers Farhana Shah and Satish Maneshinde told IANS from Mumbai that they would be filing his bail petition in the Supreme Court next week.

Majid Memon, a leading Mumbai lawyer, said that in all likelihood Dutt would be released on bail next week. 'The ground of the appeal could be that he was not convicted under TADA, was on bail for more than 10 years, and thirdly had shown very good conduct while on bail.'

Dutt is back in jail after a two-month reprieve as the special anti-terrorism court here gave him a copy of the judgement convicting him in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts in which 257 people were killed.

The actor has been absolved of terrorism charges but convicted under the Arms Act.