Soon after his release Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt addressed the press and followers where he shared his happiness for having been released as a free man after a long wait. While answering questions by the press and others present in the gathering, Sanjay who is fondly called as Baba appealed to people and press not to use his name in the infamous 1993 Bombay Blast case. He also added doesn’t have TADA charges on him.
“I waited for this day of azadi (freedom) for 23 years,” he told reporters much later at his home.
“I am not a terrorist. I was in jail under the Arms Act. It is a request, please don’t call me a 1993 Bombay blast convict,” he appealed at the press conference.
Hefting a large bag as he emerged from Pune’s Yerwada jail at around 8.45 am, the 56-year-old actor walked to his wife Maanayata, twins Iqra and Shahraan and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, his friend.
To his ‘best half’ Maanayata – who he said had suffered the most – he handed over the Rs. 440 he had earned making paper bags in prison.
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday tried to link the release of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt from Yerwada Jail to the religion the latter practices.
Referring to journalist Rana Ayyub’s tweet which termed the release of Dutt as ‘Hypocrisy’, Owaisi tweeted, “What if his name was Siddique Baba. Everything goes back to religion or religious practices one does or ‘adopts’.”
On Monday, the Bombay High Court will hear a petition challenging his early release. It also alleges that the actor enjoyed preferential treatment in jail.
The actor’s frequent breaks from jail had been criticised as evidence of VIP treatment. Between May 2013 and 2014, Mr Dutt spent over 118 days out of prison.
