Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt on Wednesday withdrew his application in which he had sought to surrender directly at Yerawada Jail in Pune, and will how give himself up at the special Tada court here on Thursday.
Special Tada judge G.A. Sanap allowed Dutt’s lawyer, Subhash Jadhav, to withdraw the plea that did not give any reason behind the reversal. The court also did not ask for the cause behind withdrawal of the application.
The CBI, prosecuting agency in the case, was expected to file a reply to the original plea, but when the court, after allowing withdrawal of the application, sought the CBI’s reply, the agency’s counsel said it did not wish to respond.
Dutt had earlier filed an application on Tuesday seeking permission to surrender directly at Yerawada Jail on the grounds that he faced threats from “vested interests” and “fundamentalist groups”. He also expressed fears about being hounded by the media in the court. The application pointed to earlier instances when, while being taken to Yerawada, journalists had chased his car for the entire stretch of the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. “The presence of a large number of fans and journalists at the court will increase security risks and might cause inconvenience to both the court and police personnel,” sources said.
Dutt was convicted under several sections of the Arms Act for illegally possessing 9mm pistols and Chinese-made AK-56 rifles. His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court on March 21, after which he was granted four more weeks to surrender. The relaxation was given recognising Dutt’s pending film shootings. The Supreme Court, however, rejected pleas by two film producers on Tuesday requesting the court to grant him additional time to surrender due to incomplete movie projects involving large amounts of money.
Security around Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail was, meanwhile, intensified on Wednesday after the prison authorities received an anonymous letter claiming a threat to Dutt after he surrenders before a Tada court on Thursday. The letter claimed Dutt will be killed if he is sent to Arthur Road Jail. A senior official confirmed that the jail authorities had got such a letter two days ago, and it had been handed over to the Mumbai police for investigation.
Arthur Road Jail superintendent V.D. Burkule said: “When Dutt is brought to the jail, we will finish the formalities and the police escort will take him to Yerwada Jail in Pune”. Dutt has to undergo the 42 months remaining of his jail term. The Supreme Court, upholding his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, had sentenced him to a five-year jail term. He has already spent a year and a half behind bars.