Furlough ends, Dutt to head for Pune prison today

MUMBAI: Actor Sanjay Dutt, who is on a two-week furlough from his term in prison, will return to jail on Thursday when his leave ends, said his lawyer.Prison authorities on Wednesday had yet to decide on the furlough extension plea made by the actor. Dutt’s lawyer, Hitesh Jain, told TOI he was informed that the Khar police have not even received the file from Pune despite the application made a week ago. “The papers haven’t reached Mumbai from the Pune prison, which is a three-hour ride away,” adding, “though technically the law requires action to be taken against a convict on furlough only if he fails to return after 28 days end, on the 29th day, Dutt will abide by the permission in hand and return to prison on January 8. It is the price a celebrity pays.” The actor had returned last month on a 14-day furlough. The state home department conducted an inquiry into his leave but the minister of state for home said the probe had revealed no irregularity. Dutt is serving a five-year term of rigorous imprisonment for possessing and destroying a prohibited weapon, an AK-56 rifle, just before the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He was convicted was under the Arms Act by the special trial court.