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Sanjay Dutt Released From Yerwada Jail

Sanjay Dutt Released From Yerwada Jail
Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, gestures to the media as he arrives at a court in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 16, 2013. Dutt has been sentenced to five years in prison for a 1993 weapons conviction linked to a deadly terror attack in Mumbai that killed 257 people. The 53-year-old actor served 18 months in jail before being released on bail in 2007 pending an appeal. The Supreme Court reduced his prison sentence to five years from the six-year term initially handed down. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
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Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, gestures to the media as he arrives at a court in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 16, 2013. Dutt has been sentenced to five years in prison for a 1993 weapons conviction linked to a deadly terror attack in Mumbai that killed 257 people. The 53-year-old actor served 18 months in jail before being released on bail in 2007 pending an appeal. The Supreme Court reduced his prison sentence to five years from the six-year term initially handed down. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)

NEW DELHI -- After a long wait of 42 months, Sanjay Dutt finally gets released from Yerwada Jail in Pune today, where he was serving the remainder of his five-year sentence for possession of illegal arms in the '93 Mumbai bomb blasts case.

The actor's family, friends and industry colleagues are all excited to welcome him back home, but before he settles back into daily life, Dutt has a packed day ahead of him.

After the release, the actor will fly back Mumbai and will directly visit the city's famed Siddhivinayak Temple for blessings.

After Siddhivinayak, the actor has planned to head to Marine Lines to seek blessings at his mother's grave.

Upon being released from Yerwada Jail, the 56-year-old actor saluted the national flag before leaving the premises.

WATCH: Actor Sanjay Dutt released from Pune's Yerwada Central Jail in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts casehttps://t.co/Rt5kH3VD4I

— ANI (@ANI_news) February 25, 2016

Members of a group called Sangharsh Samiti protested Dutt's release outside the jail premises, but were swiftly detained by police.

Protest against SanjayDutt's release, protesters immediately detained by police #MunnabhaiRelease#ITVideohttps://t.co/AljfEXHxY1

— India Today (@IndiaToday) February 25, 2016

"There's no easy walk to freedom, my friends," he told reporters present at the venue.

He was accompanied by wife Maanyata and filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani, with whom he has done three films, to the city airport, according to PTI.

Sanjay spent 42 months, a remainder of the his five year sentence in the Yerawada prison. His stay was mired in various controversies relating to his frequent paroles and furlough which the detractors said was granted to him as special favours due to his celebrity status.

Prison authorities and his lawyers, however, refuted the allegations, saying his remission of 144 days and his parole leave was in accordance with jail manual and prescribed rules.

The Bollywood star was arrested on April 19, 1993, for possession and destruction of an AK-56 rifle, which was a part of cache of arms and explosives which landed in India prior to the serial blasts of March 1993.

During the investigation and the marathon trial, he spent 18 months in jail. On July 31, 2007, the TADA court in Mumbai sentenced him to six years' rigorous imprisonment under the Arms Act and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000.

In 2013, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling but reduced the sentence to five years following which he surrendered to serve the rest of his sentence.

According to jail officials, Dutt was given work of making paper bags in his cell.

The actor, embroiled in heated debates over his frequent parole and furlough leave in many quarters, regularly participated in the programmes on internal circuit jail radio, jail sources said.

During his imprisonment, he was granted parole of 90 days in December 2013 and again for 30 days later.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.