Bollywood bad boy Sanjay Dutt heads to jail over guns case

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt surrendered on Thursday to serve three-and-a-half years in jail for illegal possession of weapons, in a case linked to deadly bombings in Mumbai 20 years ago.

Accompanied by family and friends, the 53-year-old was greeted by a crowd of journalists at the gates of his home before travelling in a convoy of cars to a court in the city’s south, where another huge crowd swarmed around his vehicle.

Dutt was initially unable to leave the car because of the chaotic media mob that police struggled to control. He eventually entered the court with his sister and wife, and from there he was to be transferred to jail.

Dutt was convicted in 2006 of possessing guns supplied by gangsters who staged the 1993 bomb attacks that killed 257 people, but he was freed on bail after serving 18 months in prison.

In March this year the Supreme Court upheld Dutt’s conviction but cut his jail term from six years to five. He was later granted four extra weeks of freedom to work on unfinished movies.

The court on Tuesday refused to hear a plea of a film producer who sought more time for Dutt to surrender so he could complete two films still being shot.