Sleepless In Yerawada

Dutt, who was shifted from Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail to the high security Yerawada Jail yesterday, did not slept properly. As per the daily jail schedule, he got up at 5.00 a.m.

Dutt has to live a simple life and earn his living by working inside the jail like other inmates. The jail authorities will assign him the work today, as part of his rigorous imprisonment.

According to sources, the kind of work that a general convict needs to do inside a jail, includes cooking food, cleanliness work, carpentry, and tailoring etc.

A convict sentenced to rigorous imprisonment has to cook, weave or do woodwork. These facilities were not available at the Arthur Road Jail. Dutt, who left the likes of Abu Salem and Mustafa Dossa in the Arthur Road Jail, here, will have the company of Abdul Karim Telgi, the kingpin in the multi-crore fake stamp paper case. Dutt’s cell is next to Telgi’s.

One of the most famous inmates of this jail was Mahatma Gandhi.

Before he was moved out, he had said: “Pray for me, I love my country, okay?" to crowds gathered outside the Arthur Road Jail. "I have faith in the country's judiciary,” he added.

Dutt was kept at Arthur Road Jail for two days. He had appealed to the special terror court to be kept in same jail, but the prosecution made a plea to shift Dutt to a high security prison.

On the security front, Arthur Road Jail officials clarified that all Maharashtra jails are under heavy security surveillance, so, any threat on Sanjay Dutt's life could be checked.

He admitted that, the Arthur Road Jail is overcrowded, having mostly under trials as inmates. Dutt was sentenced by a special Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court for the illegal possession of arms on July 31.

His lawyers have said they would appeal against the sentence, which came after a mammoth trial of those blamed for the blasts. Dutt has already spent nearly 16 months, as an undertrial before being released on bail in 1996.

Source-ANI
LIN/B