Agencies/Mumbai
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt surrendered yesterday before an anti-terrorism court in Mumbai to serve a prison term in the 1993 Mumbai bombings.
Dutt, 53, was cheered by large crowds of fans upon his arrival. He has already served 18 months of a six-year sentence for possessing weapons that were part of an arms consignment meant for use in the bombings.
He challenged his conviction before the Supreme Court and was freed on bail in 2007. The court rejected his appeal in March but reduced the sentence to five years.
Dutt, accompanied by his wife Manyata, sister Priya and friends, arrived at the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities court.
After completing the surrender formalities, Dutt was to be taken to the high-security Arthur Road Central Jail, officials said. From there he will be shifted to another regular jail either in Pune, Nashik or Nagpur.
Police officials were tight-lipped about the final destination but said Pune’s Yerawada jail, where he has spent time earlier, could be it.
Earlier, crowds and scores of camera crews gathered outside his Bandra residence since morning and continued to be there until he drove out in the afternoon in a convoy of cars.
Dressed in a white kurta, with cropped hair and a tilak on his forehead, a visibly emotional Dutt waved before walking hand-in-hand with his wife towards his car.
The crowds continued to mob him even when his motorcade reached the court complex in south Mumbai. As people strained to catch a glimpse of the star, Dutt was unable to get out of his car. He could do that only after film director Mahesh Bhatt requested the crowds to move back.
And the crowds still surged, leading Dutt to get hurt in the chest, his lawyer Rizwan Merchant said.
Accompanied by Manyata and Priya, Dutt came out of the vehicle and begged with the crowds to let him surrender. He declined to make any comment on any issue.
He was whisked away by security personnel inside the special Tada Court to complete the formalities.
The court on Tuesday refused to hear a plea of a film producer who sought more time for Dutt to surrender so he could complete two films still being shot.
Analysts estimate about Rs2.5bn ($46mn) are riding in Bollywood on the muscular star, who is best known for playing a mobster with a heart of gold in the Munnabhai movie series.
Bhatt said the actor was “crumbling” on Wednesday night but appeared much stronger yesterday.
“There was a new resolve in him to face with dignity the sentence and go through it smiling, and that was a relief to everybody around,” said Bhatt.
On Wednesday Dutt withdrew a plea to give himself up in Yerawada, which he had made citing threats to his life.
Officials said the Arthur Road jail had received an anonymous death threat letter targeting the actor, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
A string of Bollywood celebrities visited Dutt’s home before he turned himself in.
Since Wednesday night, Dutt had been getting calls and visits from friends, colleagues and well wishers, sources said.
Prominent among them were actors Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan and director David Dhawan with whom he has always shared a special rapport.
There were also Vashu Bhagnani, Rajkumar Hirani, Apoorva Lakhia, Raj Kundra, Bunty Walia, Bhushan Kumar and Sophie Choudry.
A Hindu rightwing group protested outside late Wednesday demanding he receive the death penalty.
A heavy police presence stood guard at his residence and at the court yesterday.
Though Dutt’s lawyer demanded that he be allowed home food, mattresses and blankets, medicines and electronic cigarettes and be permitted to meet his family and legal advisers among other privileges during his 42-month jail term, the Central Bureau of Investigation said he should be treated on par with other convicts.
Special judge G A Sanap has permitted home-made food and medicines for a month while rejecting all other demands, including electronic cigarettes.
A series of explosions hit 13 places in Mumbai - including the main stock exchange building, three hotels and several busy markets - on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people.
Police said the bombings were ordered by gangster Dawood Ibrahim and his associates Tiger Memon and Mohamed Dossa to avenge the destruction of the Ayodhya mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992 and the deaths of Muslims in Mumbai in the riots that followed.
The anti-terrorism court in 2007 convicted 100 people, mostly Muslims, in the case. Eleven of them were originally sentenced to death, but the Supreme Court commuted death sentences of 10 people to life imprisonment.
Dutt was found guilty of possession of an automatic rifle and a pistol, which he insisted were only meant to protect his family in the tense atmosphere in Mumbai following the mosque’s destruction.
At a news conference following the hearing in March, the father-of-three wept as he declared himself “a shattered man” and some prominent figures have called for him to be pardoned.