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Rediff.com  » News » No fan, no bed sheet, common toilets for Dutt

No fan, no bed sheet, common toilets for Dutt

By Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai
July 31, 2007 20:36 IST
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Actor Sanjay Dutt will receive no comfort or special treatment in Arthur Road prison in Mumbai.

To begin with, he will have no access to a fan, he will have to wear jail uniform and will not get a bed sheet or pillow.

The only comfort he can avail will be a blanket, which is standard for every prisoner. He will have to do without a mosquito repellent tonight. Unlike actor Salman Khan, who sought a mosquito repellent when he was in prison, Dutt has not asked for it.

Also, Dutt will have to share his toilet and bathroom with eight other prisoners who are lodged next to barrack number 10, where he is lodged. His meals will be the same as what other prisoners getÂ… there will be no home food for him.

However, TADA special court judge Pramod Dattaram Kode has given the actor some respite. Besides providing him access to medicines if required, the judge permitted Dutt's request to speak to his daughter Trishala in New York over phone in the presence of a police official.

Lodged in the same row as Dutt is notorious gangster Abu Salem. He was the man who delivered the AK-56 rifle at the actor's residence at the behest of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's brother Anees Ebrahim.

1993 serial blasts case main accused Yaqub Memon and his brothers -- Essa and Yusuf Memon -- were earlier occupants of barrack number 10. They have been shifted to Pune prison after Yaqub was sentenced to death while the other two were awarded life imprisonments.

Dutt will be lodged in Arthur Road Jail till August 2 after which he too will be sent to any of the Maharashtra state prisons, depending upon the availability of space.

"I don't want any harm to be done to him in jail," instructed Judge Kode to public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam as he delivered his verdict.

Arthur Road Jail is known for its notorious gang wars and has often hit headlines. Underworld members often fight with each other.

After he was sentenced to imprisonment, the actor continuously pleaded in vain before Judge Kode and also public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that he be given two days time to surrender as he was not prepared for this sudden decision.

"I do not have anything in my hand now. I had the powers to give you time to surrender under the Arms Act and I gave you time. Now, nothing is there in my hand," said Judge Kode.

Seeing no hopes, Dutt again stood up and requested the judge that he would be grateful if was lodged alongside his fellow co-accused Yusuf Nallwala. Accepting this request, Judge Kode told the public prosecutor, 'Both Nallwala and Sanjay Dutt can be kept in the same barrack.'

Emerging from the court, media persons mobbed a serious-looking Dutt. All that he told them was, "Pray for me. Nothing else matters"

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Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Mumbai