Dutt to be brought to Yerawada tonight or early morning

Pune, Aug 2 (UNI) Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt will be brought to the Yerawada Jail here late tonight or early tomorrow to serve his six- year rigorous imprisonment.

Dutt was acquitted under the stringent TADA, but convicted and sentenced to six- year RI under the Arms Act for keeping an AK-56 rifle and a 9 mm pistol at his residence, without legal authorisation, by Special TADA Judge P D Kode on July 31.

Yerawada Jail Superintendent Rajendra Dhamne confirmed receiving the message this afternoon.

''He will be treated like any other ordinary criminal serving a term and no special facilities will be given as per the jail manual,'' he said, adding that it is the Jail Superintendent's discretion to decide on the barrack or other minimal requirements that are to be given if there are no other specific court orders in the matter.

The actor will have to work in jail that includes cleaning, cooking and gardening, he said.

Around 12 convicts, including Yakoob Memon, are already lodged in the Yerawada, after being handed the death sentence for their involvement in the '93 Mumbai bomb blasts case. Their sentence is subject to Supreme Court's confirmation. Three other women convicts in the case, serving a five- year- term, are also lodged in the jail. Dutt will be the 16th convict in the case, Mr Dhamne said.

There are 35 other convicts on death row in the state who are also lodged in the Yerawada Jail. Even fake stamp paper prime accused Abdul Karim Telgi is lodged in the same prison.

''There has not been a single hanging in the past 4-5 years here.

In the state, only Nagpur Jail and Yerawada Jail in Pune have professional hangmen and gallows to carry out the capital sentence,'' he said.

In the past, the Yerawada Jail had high profile inmates like Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 and criminals like Raman Raghav.

UNI