Out came the verdict... Sanjay dutt was sentenced for 6 years of rigorous imprisonment. My first reaction to it was that I felt sorry for the 48 year old man. I had always loved the on screen image of sanjay Dutt.
It felt like our dear munna bhai is paying the penalty for being a celebrity.
But as I slowly started looking back at his past acts in real life through several articles on the net, the real picture started to emerge out.
Closely observe his early life, & set aside the munna bhai from the real life Sanjay Dutt.
In his teenage, Sanju got into drug addiction & was later rehabilitated. He cames across as a spoilt brat & it looks like he was not brought up with care by his parents, him being a star pair's son.
And then we have reports that the star had links with the underworld goons & that he was seen attending the lavish parties thrown by them. There could be an other angle to it too... that may be he was forced to attend such parties as we all know that the Underworld is known to put pressure on Bollywood for their own gains.
It turns out to be the two faces of the same coin.
The first side of the coin:
Sanjay obtained an AK 56 rifle & a 0.9 MM pistol from the underworld goons & claims that he procured them for his family's safety. But then, why did he have to get it from the guys who were involved in the 1993 bomb blasts?
His answer seems to be that he never knew what these guys were up to...!!!
All in all, we know that the minimum punishment under the Arms Act is 5 years. And Sanju has got 6 years.. May be a year more... since as per the judge, he not only committed the crime but he also got two others into it by asking them to destroy it without the knowledge of the police.
But if you look at the other side of the coin, the old man has already spent 16 months in jail when he was under-trial & the sword of rigorous jail term always was hanging above his neck since 14 years...
As we term it.. Justice delayed is justice denied...
The question is why did it take 14 long years to convict him & come to a decision? The basic problem lies in this fact. As we know, law is same for all & Sanju had to serve his punishment, but may be his term of sentence could have been reduced keeping all these factors in mind.
So.. in conclusion.. The sympathy which Sanjay Dutt is getting that he should be let off completely is understandably due to his munna bhai image & his soft spoken behavior in the society.
Sanjay Dutt definitely needs to pay for his criminal acts but looking at his past 14 years where he was always under the dark shadow of being accused as a criminal, & his good conduct in the society, his term can be definitely reduced.
Support Sanju by signing this online petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com
Latest update on Sanju's bail: He gets an interim bail on Aug 20th 2007
http://www.reuters.com/article/peopleNews/idUSDEB00045920070820
