All Articles on Sanjay Dutt verdict Here - Page 12

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By Eye TV India Bureau

IS SANJAY DUTT MARRIED?

Actor Sanjay Dutt's marriage to her lady love is holding curiosity for everybody as all eyes are set for another grand Bollywood wedding. Though there have been continuous denials that Sanjay Dutt is not married to her lady love Maanyata, reports continue to pour in that Maanyata has be seen wearing a mangalsutra and sporting sindoor on her head to make it known that she is married to Sanju Baba . The film world and outside is anxious to know the real status of Sanjay Dutt who has been eagerly awaiting the outcome of the court judgment in connection with his case of possessing arms. Our greetings to both , if they are wedded, especially to Maanyata to bravely stand shoulder to shoulder with her love when the latter is faced with the worst situation in his life. !

http://ww.smashits.com/news/bollywood/movie-talk/6278/is-san jay-dutt-married.html

Sanjay Dutt to undergo 'aptitude test' before work allotment

Pune, Aug. 3 (PTI): Actor Sanjay Dutt will undergo an "aptitude test" to ascertain his preferences before being allotted work at Yeravada prison where he is serving the six- year jail term given to him in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

The 48-year-old star, who was brought to the jail here from Mumbai last night, will be asked his choices and preferences before he is alloted manual work as part of the rigorous imprisonment.

The choices for prison work include textiles, laundry, baking, paper printing, carpentry and painting, jail sources said today.

"Normally we ask the preferences of prisoners and try to know the aptitude before assigning them daily work," a source said.

Among the reasons cited for shifting Dutt from Arthur Road Jail to Yeravada Jail was that the former is only meant for holding people facing trial and that the actor could not be given compulsory manual work in the prison in Mumbai.

Another reason was the security concern for Dutt, who is now being held in an egg-shaped cell meant for high-security prisoners.

Dutt was given the six-year term on Tuesday by a TADA court in Mumbai.

The Yeravada Jail, which has a vast sprawling campus, generates a good amount of revenue through the sale of products made by the prisoners, including chairs, cotton chaddars and leather chappals.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200708031719.htm

Official denies jailed Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has been given special privileges

PUNE, India: Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt is serving the first week of his six-year jail term for illegal weapons possession in a cramped cell in a high security prison in western India, a jail official said Friday.

Dutt has been housed in an oval-shaped cell that has its own toilet for use by a single prisoner, the official in Yerawada Jail in Pune, western India, said. "He has been put in this cell for security reasons."

Other prisoners use communal toilets that stink and are worm-infested. However, the official — who asked not be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media — denied Dutt has been given a separate toilet due to his celebrity status, or that any special concessions are being made to the actor.

The popular actor known for macho roles in action movies now wears a prison uniform: a white shirt, loose trousers and a cap. His individual cell allows the actor to sleep in an extra hour.

"Prisoners must get up by 5 a.m. to stand in queues for the toilet, these are very long. They have to be ready at 7 a.m. for breakfast," said a jail official who could not be named since he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Dutt has been given a prison manual listing jail rules. Immediately after breakfast, prisoners work until 6 p.m. with two breaks — once for lunch and again for a rest period.

Dinner is served by 7 p.m. after which it's lights out by 8 p.m.

Breakfast usually consists of flattened rice or potatoes with tea. Food is cooked by prisoners — dinner and lunch are usually rice, flat Indian bread and vegetables, with chicken served only over the weekend.

Like other prisoners Dutt will be put to work in the carpentry, handicraft, pottery, printing press, bakery or farming sections, and will have to do his share of keeping the prison.

Dutt was convicted for possessing illegal weapons supplied by key suspects in the bombs that ripped through India's financial capital on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people.

Yerawada is one of the largest prisons in the country. The jail's capacity is for 2,000 prisoners, but like most Indian prisons it is overcrowded and packs in more than 3,500 inmates. It most famous prisoner was Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi.

Before leaving Mumbai for Pune, Dutt appealed to his fans to pray that his bail plea is successful. "Pray for me. I love my country," Dutt told reporters while being led into a shuttered police van. "I have faith in the country's judiciary."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/03/asia/AS-GEN-India- Sanjay-Dutt.php

Bollywood gangster "Deadly Dutt" goes down

Posted: 03 August 2007 1414 hrs

NEW DELHI - Bollywood tough guy Sanjay Dutt has often been in prison in "reel life." Now the celluloid icon with leathery hangdog looks has to get used to prison for real.

He was sentenced on Tuesday to six years "rigorous imprisonment" for possessing illegal weapons that he received from plotters of the 1993 Mumbai blasts which killed 257 people.

Dutt's downfall has left producers holding a clutch of unfinished movies, with Bollywood analysts estimating losses at more than half a billion rupees (12 million dollars), a massive sum in India.

And it has also touched off a round of soul-searching about whether the sentence was too stiff for a man who many said was misguided but not dangerous.

SMS polls by television channels after his sentencing showed nine out of 10 respondents believe the 48-year-old actor should have been pardoned.

Bollywood figures have protested that Dutt is a good man.

"Even the gods pardon someone who makes a mistake," said veteran Bollywood actress Saira Banu. "He has been punished enough for the last 14 years and he tried his best to be a good citizen," said director Subhash Ghai.

India has "looked at him as a wayward child, given to getting into trouble but good at heart and always wanting to mend his ways," wrote commentator Sandipan Deb in the Indian Express on Thursday.

The melodramatic life of the action hero, who mumbled tearfully to the judge sentencing him that "I made a mistake", reads like a Bollywood script.

His adored mother Nargis, a Muslim, was the reigning queen of Bollywood in the 1950s, starring in the epic film Mother India. His father, Sunil Dutt, a Hindu, played her son in the movie and even rescued her from flames on the set. The pair wed shortly after.

Many say the pressure-cooker life of growing up with superstar parents led him astray. He became a drug addict and his problems were aggravated when his mother died of cancer in 1981 when he was 22 and just days before his first movie's release.

"That was it for nine years of my life," he once said in an interview, referring to his cocaine and heroin addiction.

He attended rehab in the United States where he met his future wife, Richa Sharma. The couple had a child, but Sharma died of a brain tumour and Dutt lost custody of his daughter in a bitter battle with his in-laws.

A second marriage ended in divorce.

Known as "Deadly Dutt" for his macho image and portrayal of gangsters and anti-hero roles, he was arrested in 1994 on charges of illegally buying guns and involvement with terrorists who set off the serial blasts in Mumbai.

The "Black Friday" bombings were allegedly staged by Mumbai's Muslim-dominated mafia in retaliation for deadly 1993 Hindu-Muslim clashes.

Dutt said he bought the guns to protect his family from Hindu zealots who wanted to wreak revenge for his father's help to Muslim victims of the riots.

Dutt, who served an initial term of 18 months before being freed on bail in 1995, was convicted last year of buying guns but was cleared of the more serious charge of conspiracy in connection with the attacks.

On top of the gun charges, he was probed in 2001 for alleged money laundering deals between the underworld and Bollywood.

Now after living a superstar's life in a ritzy apartment with a fleet of luxury cars, he was set to serve his sentence in the prison where Indian independence icon Mahatma Gandhi was incarcerated during British colonial rule.

Ironically, he recently played the role of a wisecracking mobster in the hugely popular movie "Carry on Munnabhai" in which he meets Gandhi's ghost, who steers Dutt's character onto the path of righteousness and true love.

Despite the guilty verdict, Dutt has retained public support and sympathy as a man dogged by a troubled past.

Even Judge Pramod Kode who sentenced him seemed smitten by his charm.

"I don't want you to lose faith in yourself," he told Dutt. "You are number one in your field. - AFP/fa

Indian actor Sanjay Dutt sits in a police van in Mumbai.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/entertainment/view/29 1996/1/.html

Dutt shifted to Yerawada jail

Prachi Pinglay

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, sentenced to six-year rigorous imprisonment in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, was on Thursday shifted from the Arthur Road jail here to Yerawada, near Pune, after his application to keep him in Mumbai was withdrawn.

Amid high security, Dutt was sent in a police van to the Yerawada jail. Even as several journalists were waiting outside the Arthur Road jail premises, an empty van was first taken out to avoid media glare. He was taken in another van that followed.

Earlier, Dutt's lawyer Farhana Shah submitted before the special TADA court that his client be kept in the Arthur Road jail as his sister and Congress MP Priya Dutt was pregnant.

Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, however, said jail authorities raised 10 objections to Dutt's application. He said the Arthur Road jail was meant for undertrials and not convicts. No convict had been lodged there. Convicts could be lodged only in a jail where there was provision for work. Convicts sentenced to rigorous imprisonment were expected to work during their term.

Moreover, as Dutt was a prominent personality, there could be security threats, Mr. Nikam said, adding that the accused Mustafa Dossa and Abu Salem were in the Arthur Road jail. Following the objections raised by the jail authorities, Ms. Shah withdrew the application.

http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/03/stories/2007080356620100.htm

Priya Dutt meets Sonia Gandhi

New Delhi, Aug. 3 (PTI): Amid efforts to get relief for her embattled brother and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, Congress MP Priya Dutt today met party chief Sonia Gandhi.

Priya did not speak to reporters after the meeting, which took place in the backdrop of growing pleas in the Congress that the party should stand by the family of Sunil Dutt which epitomises the values of secularism and national integration.

Earlier, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and his deputy Sriprakash Jaiswal met Gandhi.

Prior to the meeting, Dutt said her family was exploring the possibilities of getting relief for Sanjay, who was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six years by a special court in Mumbai after being convicted for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and a 9mm pistol.

"We are seeing what could be the best legal recourse for him. Our main focus is to see what we can do to get relief for him," Priya told reporters.

Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said the Congress party should stand by the Dutt family at this time of "stress and trouble".

"Sunil Dutt, Sanjay's father, was a staunch Congressman and he symbolised and epitomised what the Congress stands for. The party should stand by the Dutt family," he said on the sidelines of a function here.

Sibal said he would not comment on the merit of the case and there was no difference in the party regarding the support to be given to the Dutt family.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200708031719.htm

All legal options open before us: Priya Dutt

NEW DELHI: Actor Sanjay Dutt's sister and Congress MP, Priya Dutt on Friday told reporters that she is studying all legal options to save her brother from serving the jail-term.

"We (legal team) are exploring all possible options. We are hopeful of finding a way out," says Priya Dutt.

Earlier, she met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her residence and reportedly discussed her brother's situation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/All_legal_options_open_fo r_us_Priya_Dutt/articleshow/2252996.cms

'Hello Sanjay!'

The right calls and SMSes from Pakistan go to the wrong Sanjay in Mumbai.

Sanjay Dutt's getting SMSes and calls from Pakistan. Just that his Pakistan fans are calling up theatre producer and actor Sanjay Goradia in place of Dutt! And this has been happening for the past two months. Incidentally, even now when Dutt's in jail there have been calls and an SMS on Goradia's cellphone.

It is a case of mistaken identity, but it's only people from Pakistan calling up. "I found out the reason," says Goradia. "Apparently one of their magazines AVS printed Sanjay Dutt's cell and residence numbers. They may have lifted these from a film directory in India and instead of taking Sanjay's numbers they took mine, which may have been the name after his."

Goradia has saved 45 numbers and 31 SMSes that have come from the neighbouring country. "They are all fans telling him they love him, love his acting, and would like to speak to him. In fact, one person kept messaging a 'Hi' one whole day." Many are women callers, but quite a few are men too. Initially Goradia was confused when calls started coming on his cell and landline from Pakistan.

"Since I have a caller-ID at home I could identify the numbers. I would politely tell people this is not Sanjay Dutt's number. But they wouldn't believe and would persist. Some who understood my predicament would then request me to give them Sanjay's number and Salman Khan's too!"

Goradia incidentally has acted with Dutt in three Hindi films — Khalnayak, Khoobsurat and Safari — and is a fan of the actor himself. "I am amazed at Sanjay's popularity even in Pakistan," he says. So when was the last call that came from Pakistan? "Just a day back. A woman asked for Sanjay Dutt. I told her this wasn't his number and asked her if she knew he was in jail right now. She said she knew but was hoping she'd reach him on his cell!"

The Oshiwara police have been informed about Goradia's situation. "My friends suggested that I inform the police so there is no problem in the future since the calls were from Pakistan," says Goradia. He is hoping to contact the concerned magazine in Pakistan and get things rectified as soon as possible. Until then he has to contend with 'Hello Sanjay'.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bombay_Times/Hello_Sanjay /articleshow/2253078.cms

Release Sanjay Dutt !
Created by Priya Rao on Aug 02, 2007

Category: Human Rights
Region: India
Target: Court
Description/History:
A petition about Sanjay Dutt.

This man is being targeted for nothing. Yes, all of us agree that he did a mistake years back. But all of us also see that he is a changed man.

He has already been in the prison for 16 months and has been punished.

Petition:

We, the undersigned, call on the UN to set Sanjay Dutt Free.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/...njay-dutt.html

Bollywood hails Dutt's brief reprieve

Bollywood has erupted with joy over the news of Sanjay Dutt's [Images] release on bail by the Supreme Court.

"Justice prevails and our faith in the judiciary stands vindicated," producer-director Sanjay Gupta, Dutt's close friend, said.

Rohit Roy, another friend of Dutt's and his costar in the film Shootout At Lokhandwala [Images], added, "It is great news. We were hoping he would get bail."

The relief, however, is temporary as the Supreme Court will further decide on the case after the final draft of the TADA judgment is handed over to Dutt.

The actor was granted interim bail by a bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan on the ground that he did not possess a copy of the judgment.

The actor was sentenced to six years in jail under the Arms Act, along with other 1993 blasts accused on July 31 by TADA court judge, P D Kode.

The actor will be released from Yerwada jail in Pune on Tuesday after spending 21 days in jail. Dutt has already served 16 months in jail in 1994-95.

His sister Priya Dutt told reporters that she was happy about her brother's release, and that she had full faith in the judiciary.

Dutt may be able to celebrate Raksha Bandhan on August 28 with his family.

Speaking from Dubai, director Mahesh Bhatt [Images] said, "Andhere kamre mein thodi si hawa aai hai lekin abhi kamra khula nahi hai (Some air has entered the dark room, but the room is still locked)."


Before going to jail, Dutt was shooting for Kidnap, directed by Sanjay Dhoom Gadhvi. At least Rs 50 crores is riding on the actor. The fate of other films like Alibaug and Mr Fraud also hangs in the balance.

"Even though he has got bail, much depends on what happens in the final judgement. After all, this is just an interim bail," film trade analyst Taran Adarsh said. "Whether or not his projects will be completed depends on how long he is out on bail. He has some major projects like Abbas-Mustan's next, and he would require some time before he can complete them," he added.

Industry sources said it was unlikely that producers would start any of the films soon, until it was clear what period of time the actor would remain out of jail.

"It is the result of prayers of millions that he got justice," Subhash Ghai [Images] says. "My family and I are extremely happy that now Sanju can breath."

It has been a long and tiring journey for the 48-year-old actor whose name surfaced during the investigation into the March 12, 1993, serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured hundreds of others.

With inputs from PTI
http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2007/aug/20dutt.htm