Incarcerated Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, was granted two weeks’ furlough by the state prison authorities here late Tuesday, officials said on Wednesday, reported The Hindustan Times. The Munna Bhai MBBS star, who is currently serving a five-year jail term since nearly 18 months, had applied for the parole in November. He had taken furlough on medical grounds in October 2013 for 28 days, followed by a similar leave for 28 days in December 2013, to tend to his ailing wife Manyata.
His wife’s prolonged illness prompted him to seek further parole in January for another 28 days. The 14-day furlough can be extended by two weeks, officials added. Prison officials said furlough was the right of every prisoner and unlike parole, no specific reason was not necessary to grant the leave. “The basic concept behind furlough is that while serving the sentence, the prisoner should spend some days in society,” the official said.
Dutt was convicted for illegal ownership and destruction of an AK-56 army assault rifle during the 1993 Mumbai communal conflagration before the March 12, 1993, serial bomb blasts in the city.
Following a Supreme Court directive, he surrendered on May 16, 2013, and was shifted to the high-security YCJ in Pune to serve the remainder of his 42-month sentence.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 25th, 2014.
Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.