Bollywood Star Sanjay Dutt fears threat to life

PTI

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, convicted in the 1993 bomb blasts case, on May14 told a TADA court in India that he was facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and hence should be allowed to surrender before Yerwada jail instead of the special court here.

Dutt filed an application before special TADA Judge GA Sanap

seeking permission to surrender before the Yerwada jail in Pune instead of giving himself up before the special court in

south Mumbai.

Dutt, whose conviction under the Arms Act was upheld by the Supreme Court recently, is supposed to surrender on May 16. However, the apex court had reduced to five years the six-year jail term awarded to Dutt by a designated TADA court in 2006 while ruling out his release on probation, saying the “nature” of his offence was “serious”.

“The applicant (Dutt) is facing threat to life from fundamentalist groups and those with vested interests,” the application said. It further claimed that the actor wanted to avoid a situation of the past when media persons and camera persons had chased his vehicle from Mumbai to Pune last time he was taken to jail after the TADA court convicted him.

“The media vehicles had chased the applicant’s vehicle for 120 kilometres in the past,” the

application said.

Dutt filed the application in the TADA court, hours after the Supreme Court refused to grant the actor additional time to surrender for undergoing the

remaining 42 months jail term in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Dutt, convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to five year jail term, is supposed to surrender on May 16 before the authorities.