Sanjay Dutt wants an extension of furlough for another 14 days

Pune, Jan 7: Actor Sanjay Dutt, a convict in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case who is presently out of jail on a 14-day furlough, has sought extension of his leave from prison authorities.

The 55-year-old actor, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and destroying it, was released on a 14-day leave of furlough by the Yerawada Central Jail authorities on December 24 as he wanted to be with his family in the New Year.

"Ten days back Dutt applied for extension of furlough which is being examined," a Prisons department official said. Dutt's lawyer Hitesh Jain today said they were yet to receive a response from the authorities with regard to the application.

The actor will have to return to the jail tomorrow in case his plea is not granted. Two days after he was granted leave from prison in December last year, Maharashtra government had ordered a probe into the repeated leaves and extensions granted to Dutt.

After conducting an inquiry, jail authorities here did not find any irregularities in granting furlough to the actor. Dutt's sentence so far has been dotted with repeated furlough and parole.

Dutt had been given leave of furlough in October 2013 for 28 days on medical grounds, followed by a similar leave for 28 days in December 2013, to tend to his ailing wife Manyata.

A controversy had erupted when newspapers published photographs of Manyata purportedly attending the screening of a film and also a celebrity birthday party, raising questions about the actor's claim regarding her illness.

Angry at alleged "favouritism" being shown towards Dutt, activists of the Republican Party of India had also staged a demonstration in front of the Yerawada Jail.

Dutt is undergoing the remainder of his five-year jail term for possessing illegal firearm that was part of a cache of weapons meant to be used during the 1993 blasts.

PTI