Sanjay Dutt will return to prison and he will not seek a pardon
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt has announced he will return to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts.
Sanjay Dutt has been on bail since 2007 when he appealed against his original sentence of six years. Last week, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to five years.
Sanjay Dutt told reporters that he would “abide by the court’s decision” and not seek a pardon.
The actor was convicted in 2006 of buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai. He spent 20 months in jail.
Sanjay Dutt has said he will return to prison for his conviction over the 1993 Mumbai blasts
The serial bombings killed 257 people and wounded 713 others.
Sanjay Dutt broke down during an interaction with journalists on Thursday and hugged his sister Priya Dutt, who was sitting next to him.
“I am a shattered man. This is a very tough time in my and my family’s life. I have a few days left [before returning to prison],” Sanjay Dutt said.
“I have a lot of work [left to finish] and I want to finish it. I want to [also] stay all this time with my family. Please let me be in peace. I love my country.”
The judges have ordered Sanjay Dutt to surrender in four weeks.
Sanjay Dutt, one of Bollywood’s most bankable stars, is hugely popular for his role of a loveable gangster in Munnabhai movies. He has also dabbled in politics.
In 2006, a special anti-terror court had convicted 100 people for the blasts. Twelve of the convicts were given the death penalty and 20 others were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Sanjay Dutt, the most high-profile among the convicts, was originally charged with five offences, including criminal conspiracy and possession of illegal weapons.
The trial court had found the Bollywood star guilty of illegally possessing a rifle and a pistol but cleared him of conspiracy.
The son of a Hindu father and a Muslim mother, Sanjay Dutt said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the Hindu-Muslim rioting of 1993 which had followed the destruction by Hindu zealots of the Babri mosque in the northern town of Ayodhya.
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