Dutt has received criticism for ‘VIP treatment’ while serving sentence.
By Sreejith Vallikunnu
Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who had been given a five-year sentence by the Supreme Court, in a case linked to Mumbai blasts in 1993, will be freed from prison on March 7, 2016, according to media reports.
Sources indicated that barring last-minute glitches, Dutt would be released by March 7.
Dutt was acquitted of terror charges under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act (TADA) but found guilty of illegal weapons possession linked to the serial blasts in 1993, which killed 257 people in Mumbai.
After his arrest in 1996, the actor spent 18 months in jail before getting bail. In 2013, he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and was transferred to the Yerawada Central Jail in Pune for serving the remaining prison term of 42 months.
Of the five-year sentence, Dutt had already served 18 months as an under-trial. He was then required to undergo another 42 months in prison.
Meanwhile, the Bollywood superhero had been out on parole on at least four occasions during his term of imprisonment. He has received a lot of criticism for the ‘VIP treatment’. Dutt was on parole last in September 2015 on account of his daughter’s health issues.