Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Sidhu Moose Wala death: 2 men linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi arrested in Haryana

2022-06-04

[OneIndia] Two men linked to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi were arrested in Haryana amid a probe over killing, according to Hindustan Times report.

The 30-year-old Lawrence Bishnoi, ringleader of the 700-member gang of criminals, has come under the police radar with Canada-based gangster Goldy Brar claiming responsibility for singer Sidhu Moosewala's murder.

Born on February 12, 1993, Bishnoi, referred to as "Don" by gang members, is a graduate and a resident of Dhattaranwali village near Abohar. Bishnoi's father joined the Haryana Police as a constable in 1992, but left job after five years and started farming.

On May 29, Moosewala was rubbed out by person or persons unknown in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government curtailed his security cover.

The murder:

Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala shot dead day after security withdrawn
May 29
[OneIndia] Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was rubbed out by person or persons unknown in Jawaharke village of Mansa district on Sunday. The incident took place a day after the Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
government withdrew his security cover.

"Congress leader and Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was brought dead," said Dr Ranjeet Rai, Civil Surgeon, Mansa Hospital.

"Three people were brought to the hospital, out of which Sidhu Moose Wala was dead. After giving primary treatment, the two injured have been referred to a higher institute for further treatment," he added.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (Mansa) Gobinder Singh told PTI that several bullets hit Moosewala, 27, who was in his jeep at village Jawahar Ke when he was attacked.

The singer had joined the Congress party in December last year. He had fought on the Congress ticket from Mansa assembly seat in the recent assembly election and was defeated by AAP's Dr Vijay Singla.

Sidhu Moose Wala, an Indian singer, rapper, songwriter and actor associated with Punjabi music and Punjabi cinema. He started his career as a songwriter for the song "License" by Ninja, and began his singing career on a duet song titled "G Wagon". Following his debut, he collaborated with Brown Boyz for various tracks which were released by Humble Music.

He gained wide attention with his track "So High". In fall 2018, he released his debut album PBX 1, which peaked at 66th on Billboard Canadian Albums chart.

He had faced legal challenges for promoting gun culture and using inflammatory and inciting lyrics in his songs.

Who is Sidhu Moose Wala?

[OneIndia] Born on 17 June 1993, Moosewala belongs to the Moosewala village which is situated in Punjab's Mansa district. His real name is Shubhdeep Singh. He an Indian singer, rapper, songwriter and actor associated with Punjabi music and Punjabi cinema.

Moosewala widely known for his 'gangster rap', hit the headlines for his controversial lyrical style, often promoting gun cultures, while also hurting religious sentiments.

Reportedly, Moose Wala has a rivalry with Karan Aujla; both have replied to each other through songs, social media handles and live performances.

AK-47 TRAINING
On 4 May 2020, Moose Wala's two videos went viral in which he was training to use an AK-47 with five police officers in one video, and a personal pistol in another.[54] Six police officials who assisted Moose Wala were suspended following the incident.

On 19 May, Moose Wala was booked under two sections of the arms act.

In July 2020, he released a single "Sanju", in which he compared his charges with Sanjay Dutt. Indian shooter Avneet Sidhu criticised Moose Wala for promoting gun culture. On the next day, case was registered on him for the song.

GLORIFICATION OF KHALISTANI MOVEMENT
In December 2020, Moose Wala released the single "Panjab: My Motherland", in which he glorified Khalistani separatist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. The song also includes visuals from a speech made by Khalistani supporter Bharpur Singh Balbir in the late 1980s.

"SCAPEGOAT" AND REOPENING OF 2020 ARMS ACT CASE
On 11 April 2022 Sidhu released a new song titled "Scapegoat" in which he laments his failure in the recent state assembly elections.Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the popular singer called the voters of Punjab "gaddar" (traitors) in the song for making AAP win.

He had fought on the Congress ticket from Mansa assembly seat in the recent assembly election and was defeated by AAP's Vijay Singla. Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, known as Sidhu Moosewala, was among the 424 people whose security was withdrawn by the Punjab Police on Saturday.

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India-Pakistan

Terror module busted in Delhi, UP shows Dawood is still prime asset for ISI

2021-09-15

[OneIndia] The busting of two ISI sponsored modules, one by the Delhi Police and another by the UP ATS is clearly a sign of the Pakistain spy agencies trying to up the ante ahead of the elections to be held next year.

While the Delhi Police arrested 6 persons who were planning attacks during the festival season, the UP police picked up 3 persons following raids at Lucknow, Rae Bareli and Pratapgarh.

The Delhi Police said that the six persons were planning major attacks in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra during the festival season. The police also said that the accused persons had visited Pakistain. In Pakistain they were taken to a town near the Gwadar port and were trained by two persons from the Pakistain Army.

The training imparted to them involved preparing IEDs, using firearms, AK-47s and committing arson with the help of items of daily use.

The module was busted after the police received intelligence that a Pakistain sponsored module was planning on executing a series of attacks in the country. The police following the raids arrested, Jaan Mohammad Sheikh (47 years old) of Mumbai, Osama (22) of Delhi, Moolchand (47) of Raebareli, Zeeshan Qamar (28) of Prayagraj, Mohammad Abu Bakar (23) of Bahraich, and Mohammad Amir Javed (31) of Lucknow.

Osama and Qamar travelled to Muscat and from there they were taken to Pakistain on a boat. They stayed in Pakistain at a farmhouse in Thatta for 15 days and during this period they received training, senior special cell officer, Neeraj Thakur said.

During the probe the role of Dawood Ibrahim's brother too was revealed. The police learnt that Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim was coordinating the execution of the attacks. He was also handling the recruitments, finance, logistics and transport through underworld channels largely based in Mumbai.

The ISI has often used Dawood's underworld network to carry out attacks in India. The channel is also crucial for the ISI to ferry across drugs into India and Sri-Lanka, the proceeds of which are used to fund terror activities.

The role of the Dawood network was suspected in the Mumbai train bombings as well as the 26/11 attacks. Considering the underworld knows the city of Mumbai very well, the D-Company

...the Dawood Ibrahim mob. Dawood's an international mobster allied with various terror groups including al-Qaeda. The Pak govt can't seem to catch him, despite having his address and phone number...
has been instrumental in providing logistic support. The first time the name of Dawood cropped up in an act of terror was during the Mumbai 1993 blasts case.

In the current case, the police learnt that an underworld operative Sameer was hired by a Pakistain based person. He coordinated with his contacts to ensure the delivery of arms and ammunition.

An Intelligence Bureau official tells OneIndia that Dawood continues to be an asset for the ISI. It is a well known fact that he lives under the protection of the Pakistain spy agency. While Pakistain continues to deny his presence on its soil, his whereabouts and the operations he launches from the country has come to light on several occasions.

A recent probe by the NIA into the seizure of 300 kilograms of drugs off the coast of Vizhinjam revealed the role of Pakistain. It was found that the operatives were in touch with a Pakistain based drug runner Haji Salim. This is very much part of the Dawood cartel which operates in Pakistain, India and Sri Lanka, an officer explained. The ISI has upped narcotic trade in a bid to use it to orchestrate terror attacks in India, the official also said.

Another One India article adds:

"They formed 2 teams-one was being coordinated by Dawood Ibrahim's brother Anees Ibrahim. It was tasked to get the arms into India from across the border and keeping them concealed here.The other team was to arrange funding via Hawala," he said.

"The arrested have stated that there were 14-15 Bangla speaking persons in their group who might have been taken for similar training. It looks like this operation was closely coordinated from across the border," said Neeraj Thakur, Special CP, Delhi Police Special Cell.

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India-Pakistan

Mukesh Ambani security scare: Top Indian Mujahideen terrorist under scanner

2021-03-13

[OneIndia] A search operation conducted by the Tihar jail authorities has led to the recovery of a mobile phone from the barrack of Indian Mujahideen
A locally recruited auxilliary of Pakistain's Lashkar-e-Taiba, designed to give a domestic patina to Pakistain's terror war against its bigger neighbor...
operative Tehseen Akhtar alias Monu.

He may be a mere operative now, but back in 2014 when he was arrested he was reckoned the Big Turban of the Pakistani sock puppet called Indian Mujahideen.

The police suspect that the mobile was used to create a Telegram channel of the outfit Jaish-ul Hind.

The outfit, it may be recalled had grabbed credit for parking an SUV with gelatine sticks and a threat note outside the home of Mukesh Ambani.

Following the information provided by the Special Cell, the Tihar jail authorities seized a mobile phone from the jail where certain terror convicts are lodged. It is suspected that the phone was used to operate Telegram channels used recently fro claiming responsibility for terror acts and threats. Further probe and forensic analysis will be done after the mobile is received from the jail authorities, DCP (special cell) Pramod Kushwaha said.

Sources in the Delhi Police tell OneIndia that the mobile was in use for around 3 months. Several prisoners including Tehseen was using the mobile. A private cyber firm was asked to track the location of the phone on which the Telegram channel was created.

Tehseen was a key player in the Indian Mujahideen and had criminal masterminded a series of attacks in India.

His name had first cropped during the Varanasi blasts in which 2 people died. A resident of Samastipur in Bihar, he was just 16 when he carried out his first terror operation in Varanasi.

Akthar was also involved in the Mumbai bombings of 2011 and the 2013 Dilsukhnagar attack. The chase to nab him was a tough one. He would also flee to Samastipur following an attack and his close links in the political circles would help him get away.

Akthar was finally banned in 2014 near the India-Nepal border in the Ani Tankhi area of Naxalbari. He was travelling to Nepal to collect money to be used for an operation in Rajasthan.

Link

India-Pakistan

Sanjay Dutt moves court for more time to surrender

2013-04-16

[Dawn] Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt has moved India's top court for more time before going back to jail for possessing arms supplied by plotters of the deadly 1993 Mumbai blasts, his lawyer said Monday.

Dutt was sentenced to five years in jail for possession of illegal weapons in the long-running case linked to the 1993 Mumbai bombings. The court had given all accused four weeks to surrender.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
the Bollywood star had said he would seek clemency in the matter.

In his plea on Monday, Dutt asked the court to keep the punishment in abeyance until the governor decides on pardon, said a report by the Hindustan Times.

The court had upheld Sanjay Dutt's conviction under the Arms Act in the terror attack for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and an AK-56 rifle. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
the court reduced the sentence from six years to five years, effectively reducing Dutt's jail time to three years and six months as he has already undergone 18 months imprisonment.

Dutt, the son of Bollywood legends Nargis and Sunil Dutt, has films like the Zanjeer remake, Policegiri, Munna Bhai 3 and P.K. in the works.

Link

India-Pakistan

Why Sanjay Dutt doesn't deserve a pardon

2013-03-29

by Vivek Kaul

Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak with Sanjay Dutt in the lead role released on June 15, 1993. This was around two months after Dutt was first arrested on April 19, 1993, for his involvement in the Bombay bomb blasts which happened on March 12, 1993 (Bombay is now Mumbai).

The story goes that Ghai had shot multiple ends for the movie, and after Dutt's arrest he used the one which showed Ballu, the character played by Dutt, in a positive light.

That's the thing with reel life, if the director does not like the end, he can change it. Real life should work a little differently, that's what you and I might think. But it doesn't always work like that. At least, not if you are Sanjay Dutt.
On March 21, 2013, the Supreme Court of India, convicted Dutt for illegal possession of arms and sentenced him to five years in prison.

Between then and now a small cottage industry seems to have evolved which is trying to tell the world that Dutt is innocent and is trying to change the end of a long judicial process which has finally delivered some justice.

This cottage industry includes those working with him in the Hindi film industry. They cannot believe that Sanju Sir, as they like to call him, will have to go to jail. Rakhi Sawant, who is largely famous for what the Hindi film industry refers to as item numbers, has even volunteered to go to jail instead of Dutt.

"If there is any provision in the law, then I'd like to request the court to send me to jail in place of Sanjay. Not because he is a big actor today, but because he has a family and kids at home to take care of," she has remarked.

Support has also come in from Marakandey Katju, Chairman of the Press Council of India, who on other occasions has spoken out strongly against media's obsession with celebrities. Katju is also a former judge of Supreme Court. He wants Sanjay Dutt to be pardoned.

He has offered various reasons for the same. In the last twenty years Dutt has suffered a lot. He had to take the permission of the Court for foreign shootings. He has two small children. And to top it Dutt has through his film revived the memory of Mahatma Gandhi and the message of Gandhiji, the father of the nation. Justice Katju in his appeal to grant pardon to Dutt had also said that "his parents Sunil Dutt and Nargis worked for the good of society and the nation".

Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh has jumped into the rescue-Sanjay-Dutt bandwagon as well. "Sanjay Dutt is not a criminal, he is not a terrorist. Sanjay Dutt, at a young age, in the atmosphere of that time, thought that perhaps the way Sunil Dutt had been raising his voice against communalism and favoured the minorities, then perhaps he could be attacked. So, as an obvious reaction of a kid to do something, if he has committed a mistake then I feel that he has undergone the punishment for it," Singh said.

Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal, who normally goes cholbe na cholbe na against everything, has also come out in support of Dutt. "Today, I fondly remember Sunil Dutt ji. He used to come to my residence whenever he was in Calcutta. If he were alive, he would have no doubt made all efforts to see that Sanjay does not suffer any more. My heart echoes the same sentiments ," the Trinamool Congress chief wrote on Facebook, getting nostalgic.

Let me demolish this arguments one by one. In 1993, Sanjay Dutt was 33, going on 34. He was no kid, as Digvijaya Singh makes him out to be. On the other hand Ajmal Kasab, who was recently hanged to death, was actually a kid, when he carried out the gruesome act that he did.

In the last twenty years Dutt has suffered a lot, feels Katju. But so has everyone else who was accused in the Mumbai bomb blasts case. Yusuf Memon, one of the accused, who will be serving a life sentence, is schizophrenic and the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking relief from his conviction and life sentence.

During the last twenty years Dutt managed to marry twice (Rhea Pillai and now Manyata earlier known as Dilnawaz Sheikh ). So much for him suffering. And as far as kids go, if people were pardoned because they had kids, nobody in India would ever go to jail.

The movies Katju is talking about are Munnabhai MBBS and Lageraho Munnabhai. Dutt did not make these movies, he just acted in them. The movies were the vision of director Rajkumar Hirani who also co-wrote them. In fact, Dutt was not even supposed to play the role of Munnabhai in Munnabhai MBBS. The original choice was Shah Rukh Khan, who later declined due to a back injury. So Sanjay Dutt was simply lucky to have first landed and then played the role which made Gandhi fashionable again. And that is no reason to let him go.

Digivijaya Singh in his statement seems to be justifying Sanjay Dutt possessing illegal weapons for self defence. What he forgets is that we are not talking about some desi katta or a revolver here. We are talking about AK-56 rifles. It's worth remembering that the year was 1993 and not 2013. "And AKs were not weapons you almost ever saw outside some militant districts in Punjab and Kashmir," writes Shekhar Gupta in a column in The Indian Express.

And as far as the nostalgia of Mamata Banerjee goes there are people who might still feel nostalgic about the late Head Constable Ibrahim Kaskar of Mumbai police. As S Hussain Zaidi writes in Dongri to Dubai -- Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia: "In the predominantly Muslim stronghold of Dongri, Ibrahim's baithak was the first place people went to if they had a problem. It was privy to everything-from people discussing their choking lavatory drain to the excitement of the elopement of lovers or cases of police harassment."

Kaskar's son is Dawood Ibrahim. So should sons committing crimes be let go because there fathers happened to be nice men? Maybe Justice Katju and Mamata Banerjee can give us an answer to that.

In fact, it would be safe to say that Sanjay Dutt was very lucky not be convicted under the the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (or what we better know as TADA). Dutt was arrested in 1993, for acquiring three AK-56s rifles, nine magazines, 450 cartridges and over 20 hand grenades. One doesn't need so many weapons and ammunition for self defence. This despite the fact that Dutt already had three licensed weapons. And when was the last time you heard anyone keeping hand grenades at home for self protection?

Some of these weapons were later stored at the home of a woman called Zaibunissa Kazi. This included two of the three AK-56s rifles that Dutt had got. Kazi was convicted under TADA. Same was the case with Baba Mussa Chauhan and Samir Hingora, who delivered the consignment of arms to Dutt's house. And so was Manzoor Ahmed, whose car was used to ferry the arms out of Dutt's residence.

But the special TADA court did not convict Dutt under TADA. This is very ironical given that those who got the arms to Dutt's house were convicted under TADA. So was the women in whose house the arms were placed, after they were moved from Dutt's house. He had also admitted to being directly in touch with Anees Ibrahim, the main conspirator Dawood Ibrahim's younger brother. Further, CBI did not challenge the TADA court's decision which relieved Dutt of charges under TADA, in the Supreme Court.

In fact Satish Manishinde, Dutt's lawyer later admitted in front of a spy camera in a sting operation carried out by Tehelka that "The moment she (Zaibunissa Kazi) was convicted, I thought Sanjay too would be convicted under TADA ." No wonder Kazi's daughter feels ""I wish I was a celebrity or my mother was a celebrity or a sister of an MP. Even my mother would have got the kind of support Sanjay Dutt is getting. If it is on humanitarian grounds then why only Sanjay Dutt, why not Zaibunisa. Isn't she a human? Isn't she a citizen of this country?"

As a line from the song Yaaram written by Gulzar, from the still to be released Ek Thi Daayan goes "koi khabar aayi na pasand to end badal denge". Everyone who is trying to appeal for a pardon for Sanjay Dutt is trying to change the end of a long judicial process which has finally delivered some justice.

To conclude, let me say this loudly and emphatically, if Sanjay Dutt is innocent, then I am Amitabh Bachchan.

Link

India-Pakistan

What's in a name? Ask Zaibunissa Kazi and Manzoor Ahmed

2013-03-29

So Amar Singh and Jaya Prada went to the Maharashtra Governor's office to ask him to pardon Sanjay Dutt. Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh has already said that he 'was of an impressionable age'. This impressionable age, for the record, was 33 years. Jaya Bachchan says he's suffered enough for 20 years. She too wants to go to the governor. Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee went public on her Facebook account saying Sanjay should be pardoned. Among the first to start the chorus was Press Council of India Chairman, Justice Markandey Katju.

The Dutt saga is well known. What many may not know is that Zaibunissa Kazi, a 70-year-old widow, was convicted under the now repealed TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities -Prevention). She was accused of keeping at her home the weapons that came from Sanjay Dutt's house: grenades, AK 56 rifles and ammunition. Her sentence too was upheld by the Supreme Court and she was given five years in jail. No Bollywood celebrity or politician is clamouring for a pardon for her.

Samir Hingora of Magnum was also convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison under TADA. He delivered the weapons to Sanjay Dutt's house.

What many wondered even in 2006-07, when the special court pronounced Ms Kazi guilty under TADA, was this: how could a person who received illegal weapons and a person who delivered them be guilty under TADA, a terror law, and not the person from whose house the weapons came?

Many years later, there are still no answers. But let's look at the questions. Ms Kazi kept the weapons at home, like Sanjay Dutt. Then how was she sentenced under a terror law and the actor under the illegal arms Act? Unlike Sanjay Dutt, Ms Kazi did not call underworld don Dawood's brother Anees Ibrahim to have weapons delivered to her house. Well-known underworld operative Abu Salmen did not deliver the weapons to her house. Again, unlike Sanjay Dutt, Ms Kazi did not have three licensed guns to her name. Yet, all this wasn't enough to get her either a lower sentence or an acquittal under TADA. She still has a little over a year left to serve her sentence of five years.

Manzoor Ahmed famously told investigators of the 1993 blasts, "main to sirf actor Sanjay Dutt ko dekhne gaya tha." He drove his Maruti 1000 to Sanjay Dutt's house along with Abu Salem. He got 10 years in jail under TADA. He did not appeal against his verdict, but the CBI did - to enhance his sentence.

Curiously, what should come most naturally to any investigating agency, especially one that calls itself the country's premier investigating agency - the CBI - was not done. The CBI did not appeal against the lower court's acquittal of Sanjay Dutt under TADA. So Manzoor Ahmed's offence deserved higher punishment, but Sanjay Dutt's acquittal did not merit so much as an appeal. We are still waiting for the CBI to answer that query, which naturally begs the question: does a certain convict's name or surname automatically guarantee him different treatment?

When asked why he didn't take up Ms Kazi's appeal to the Governor, Amar Singh said her family had not approached him. Mr. Singh, did Sanjay Dutt's family come to you with their request? Or did they go to Mamata Banerjee, Digvijaya Singh, Jaya Bachchan or Justice Katju?

It's easy to say he's suffered so many years, '20 years is almost a lifetime' they say. Well, so have others. The 1993 blasts case was never about a celebrity or a commoner, but it's equally true that Sanjay Dutt has been held guilty for illegal weapon possession in that very case: it's still the worst terror attack on the country. 257 people died. A hard fact even his 'well-wishers' cannot ignore.

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India-Pakistan

Sanjay Dutt "shattered" as sent back to jail

2013-03-23

[Dawn] Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to five years jail by the Supreme Court on Thursday for possession of illegal weapons in a long-running case linked to the 1993 Mumbai bombings, according to a report in TOI:

Dutt said on Thursday he is 'shattered' by the Supreme Court verdict sentencing him to five years in prison in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. He said he will complete all his pending films, and that he ought to be strong in these trying times for his family and children.

"I know in my heart that I have always been a good human being, respected the system and always been loyal to my country."

That country being Pakistan instead of India, it would appear... or perhaps the Ummah, which in that part of the world amounts to the same thing.

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India-Pakistan

Sanjay Dutt's mercy plea finds support from govt

2013-03-22

NEW DELHI: An appeal from the Press Council of India (PCI) chief, Justice (retd) Markandey Katju to the Maharashtra governor K Sankarnarayan seeking mercy for actor Sanjay Dutt seems to have found favour from the government with several UPA ministers on Friday suggesting if the Bollywood star approaches the governor an "appropriate" decision may be taken.

"Governor will use his discretionary power when there will be an appeal to him. He has the power to pardon," said law minister Ashwani Kumar. He, however, refrained from giving his own opinion on it.

Information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari said the authorities will take cognizance of the matter at an appropriate level.

"Justice Katju has been a very eminent judge of the Supreme Court. Whenever he articulates a position on an issue, people both inside and outside the government listen to it carefully," Tewari told reporters.

Tourism minister and film star Chiranjeevi too favoured mercy, saying Dutt, "should get mercy ... if he gets mercy, I will be the most happiest person."

Earlier, Justice Katju had appealed to the governor K Sankarnarayan seeking pardon for Dutt on humanitarian grounds under Article 162 of the Constitution after the apex court had upheld his five-year sentence in the 1993 blasts case.

However, Raj Bhavan officials in Mumbai said they were yet to receive any official communication in this regard from Justice Katju.

Maharashtra home minister R R Patil said that the state government too had not received any application in this regard. "The entire issue was being handled by the centre. I haven't yet read the entire SC judgment," he said. Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan chose not to comment on the issue.

Plea for clemency for the film star has been made by some allies of the Congress too. NCP general secretary D P Tripathi made a strong pitch for mercy. "The governor has the right and he should give clemency to Dutt who has not been accused of any involvement in terrorist activities but illegal possession of arms," Tripathi said.

Opposition BJP was more cautious. BJP spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said, "Review petition has been allowed to be filed by the SC. Now it is up to Sanjay Dutt whether he wants to file or not. Let's see what they have to decide."

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan said she will appeal to Maharashtra governor K Sankarnarayanan to pardon Dutt. "I agree with everyone that he has suffered a lot. I believe that he should not be given such a big punishment. He is a changed man now. I'm going to personally appeal governor and ask him to pardon him," she said.

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India-Pakistan

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt gets 3 years jail for involvement in 1993 Mumbai bombings

2013-03-21

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt will have to undergo a jail term of three years and six months after the Supreme Court on Thursday upheld his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case which it said was organised by underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and others with the involvement of Pakistan's ISI.

However, the apex court reduced to five years the six year jail term awarded to him by a designated TADA court in 2006, ruling out his release on probation because the "nature" of his offence was "serious".

53-year-old Dutt, son of the late Sunil Dutt and Nargis, has already spent one and half years in jail and was out on bail. Sunil Dutt was a long standing Congressman and was a Union minister.

Dutt was convicted by the TADA court for illegal possession of a 9 mm pistol and a AK-56 rifle which was part of the consignment of weapons and explosives brought to India for the coordinated serial blasts that killed 257 people and injured over 700.

Bringing to a closure the appeals by the convicts and the state in the case, a bench of justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan upheld the death sentence of Yakub Abdul Razak Memon, brother of one of the absconding main conspirators Tiger Memon and life sentences of 16 of the 18 convicts.

The death sentence of 10 others was commuted to life sentence by the court which directed that they will remain in prison till death.

The life sentence of one Ashrafur Rehman Azimulla was reduced to 10 years while Imtiyaz Yunusmiya Ghavte was set free by reducing the sentence to jail term already undergone.

"The circumstances and the nature of the offence is so serious that we are of the view that he (Sanjay Dutt) cannot take the benefit of provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act to release him on probation," the bench said.

"We reduce the punishment of six years to minimum of five years under the Arms Act," the bench said and directed him to surrender within four weeks.

Sanjay Dutt's lawyer Satish Maneshinde said he has spoken to the actor who told him that he was strong enough to go through whatever the court has asked him to undergo.

"He has accepted the judgement, he said adding "he will go through the verdict and will consider all the legal recourses available to him".

The apex court concurred with the conclusion arrived at by the designated TADA court saying that it had adopted the "correct procedure" while awarding the sentence to Dutt.

"We are in agreement with conclusion arrived at by the designated TADA court that had rejected the arguments of the appellant Sanjay Dutt," the bench said.

"We are of the view that the trial court adopted the correct procedure and the decision arrived at by it was correct," it said and directed Dutt to surrender within four weeks from today.

According to the CBI, RDX had come from Pakistan in boats and had landed in Dighy and Shekhadi coasts in Raigad district in January and February 1993. Besides, weapons had also landed and were collected by Tiger's men. One of the weapons was given to actor Sanjay Dutt by Bollywood filmmakers Samir Hingora and Hanif Kadawala.

The apex court modified the nine year jail term awarded by TADA court to Hingora to the jail term already undergone.

Hingora had supplied AK-56 rifles, magazines, cartridges and hand grenades, which were part of the illegal consignment to be used in the blasts, at Dutt's Pali Hill residence and has spent six and half years in jail.

Kadawala was shot dead in February 2001 by two unindentified men during the trial of the case.

The apex court upheld the five-year jail term awarded to Zaibunnisa Anwar Kazi, who also was found guilty of storing AK-56 rifles and hand grenades.

The court also upheld the conviction and five-year sentence of Yusuf Mohsin Nulwalla, a close friend of Dutt, who was held guilty of destroying the weapons which were kept at Dutt's house.

The punishment of two-year jail term of Kersi Bapuji Adjania, who was also sentenced for destroying weapons in Dutt's possession, was also upheld.

According to CBI, Nulwalla had picked up the weapons from Dutt's house and took them to Adjania and then destroyed them.

The court, however, dismissed Maharashtra government's appeal against the acquittal of Ajai Yash Prakash Marwah who was charged by the probe agency of keeping the pistol recovered from Dutt's residence while other weapons were destroyed by convicts Nulwalla and Hingora.

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India-Pakistan

Bollywood's Dutt barred from polls

2009-04-01

A top Indian court declares Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt ineligible to contest elections due to his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai bombings.

The Supreme Court in New Delhi on Tuesday refused to suspend his conviction in connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, PTI reported. "We are not inclined to suspend his conviction," a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan said.

Dutt was convicted under the Arms Act and sentenced to six years in jail in July 2007 by a court for buying weapons from bombers who attacked the port city of Mumbai.

He is the most high-profile of 100 people convicted in connection with the lethal bombings. The actor, who found fame playing gangsters, has said the weapons were necessary in order to defend his family during the 1993 Hindu-Muslim riots. He is out on bail at present and wanted to stand as a Samajwadi Party candidate in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

India's parliamentary elections, the world's largest exercise in democracy, begin in less than three weeks. Under Indian electoral laws, anyone who is given a jail sentence more than a period of two years is not eligible to contest elections.

Around twelve bomb blasts rocked several sites across Mumbai in April 1993, killing 257 people and wounding over 700 others.

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India-Pakistan

Prison Guard in trouble for hugging Sanjay Dutt

2007-08-27

A police prison guard in India has been suspended after he hugged Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt as he was being released from jail, officials say.

Eight other constables who shook hands with Dutt as he emerged from jail near Mumbai on bail last week have also been told to explain themselves. Television channels showed the police guards smiling and greeting the star after his 22 days of incarceration. He was jailed for buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai in 1993.

Dutt was given temporary bail from the high security Yerwada prison - in the city of Pune, 160km (100 miles) south-east of Mumbai - by the Supreme Court last week. He is the most high-profile of 100 people convicted in connection with the blasts which killed 257 people. He was cleared of conspiracy, but found guilty of illegally possessing a rifle and a pistol.

After the TV pictures emerged, the jail authorities announced the formation of a departmental inquiry. "This action amounts to violation of prison rules and decorum as they were seen being friendly with a convicted criminal," Rajendra Dhamne, the chief of the prison in Pune, told the Reuters news agency. Mr Dhamne said prison guards were expected to treat Dutt like any other convict.

Dutt is now in Mumbai, where he lives with his family. The actor's release was ordered on the grounds that a copy of the judgement, passed by the special anti-terror court in Mumbai, was yet to reach the actor. But the court specified that the measure was a temporary one. The judge said that as soon as the actor received a copy of the Mumbai court order, he would have to return to jail.
Only after that could the actor file an appeal for bail and the matter would be considered on merit, the judge added. Dutt's lawyers say that they will appeal against his sentence as soon as he receives the court order, which jail authorities say will be delivered to him around 27 September.

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India-Pakistan

Paid labour awaits jailed Sanjay Dutt

2007-08-03

Actor Sanjay Dutt, who has swapped the glamour of the silver screen for the harsh reality of prison, will soon have to choose between cooking, carpentry, farming or weaving for just a dollar a day.

Dutt was jailed for six years "rigorous imprisonment" on Tuesday for acquiring guns from gangsters linked to India's worst bombings in Mumbai in 1993 - less 16 months he served while awaiting trial.

"Rigorous imprisonment means doing labour like cooking, carpentry, farming, working on handlooms, etcetera," a jail official said, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"Sanjay Dutt will be treated like any other convict and he will have to work as well."

Dutt has been temporarily lodged in a jail in his hometown Mumbai meant for prisoners under trial, where he is reportedly sharing a cell with two other men, but officials said he would probably be moved to a more permanent home soon.

Indian jails are overcrowded, with some holding almost five times their capacity. The one Dutt is lodged in now officially has room for 800 people, but houses about 3,000.

Jail sources said that Dutt would be given the prison uniform - a striped white shirt with white pyjamas and a white cap once it is decided where he will serve his term.

The actor, one of the highest paid in Bollywood, will have to eat the prison meals that prisoners themselves cook. Breakfast would typically be puffed rice, or vegetable curry with a loaf of bread, while lunch and dinner is curry, lentils and Indian bread.

There is chicken or eggs on weekends.

A jail cell, which usually houses three convicts, has a bulb but no fans. The lights are switched off after 8 p.m. Each convict is given two sheets. The living conditions are far from decent with stinking common toilets and bathrooms.

In India, where political clout and money often bend the rules, many celebrities and politicians have received special treatment while under trial, some being lodged in guest houses with air-conditioners and allowed to eat home-cooked food.

In some of the lawless states in eastern and northern India, convicts with the right connections receive special treatment and access to a television, refrigerators and mobile phones.

The judge who sentenced Dutt told prison officials to take all necessary steps to ensure the star's security, but jail officials stress Dutt will not get star treatment.

Dutt also requested the court that he be put in the same barracks as a friend who helped him destroy the automatic rifle which was to land them in trouble.

On Tuesday, his relatives met him and handed him some toiletries, medicines and clothes.

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