Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt is all set to be released from the Yerawada Central Jail here in Maharashtra on Thursday morning, an official source said on Monday.
The 56-year-old celebrity prisoner will be released after serving the remainder of his five-year sentence for possession of illegal arms in the March 12, 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case.
Dutt is scheduled to step out of the jail around 9 a.m. on February 25 and will be received by his wife Manyata, children and other family members.
The jail authorities have rejected a request for a small 'welcome ceremony' planned by the family on security grounds, in view of a large number of the actor's fans and media contingent expected there, said the official requesting anonymity.
The release date of Dutt was first announced by his spokesperson in June last year amid speculation that the actor would be reward with an early exit from prison for his good conduct.
Of the five-year sentence, Dutt has served more than 50 months in two installments, excluding the parole and furlough he was granted at various times on different grounds.
Dutt grabbed headlines when the then Mumbai police commissioner, late A.S. Samra ordered his arrest in 1993 for illegally keeping an AK-47 assault rifle.
He spent 18 months in jail as an undertrial before he was granted bail and later, following a Supreme Court order in May 2013, he was sent to the Yerawada jail in Pune to serve the remaining 42 months of his five-year sentence.
FREE-FOR-ALL 'CHICKEN SANJU BABA' TO CELEBRATE ACTOR'S FREEDOM
A Mumbai restaurateur will offer a special culinary delight -- named 'Chicken Sanju Baba' -- free of charge to all patrons and fans to celebrate Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's release from prison on Thursday.
Mughlai eatery Noor Mohammadi Hotel in south Mumbai will offer the signature recipe, created by Dutt himself and gifted to restaurant owner Khalid Hakim.
"I had invited Sanjay Dutt Sa'ab to inaugurate the new family section of my restaurant in 1986. Since then, he visited regularly to relish the special non-vegetarian and other food items we served here, especially his favourite Nalli Nari," Hakim told IANS.
Dutt also loved other lipsmacking specialities like White Chicken Biryani, Chicken Hakimi, Dal Ghee, Zafrani Tangdi Kabab, Shami Kabab, Tiranga Kabab etc. on the menu, which Dilip Kumar, late M.F. Husain and Sunil Dutt also loved.
"It was only much later -- in 2010 -- on one of his visits that he created a special gravy-based chicken dish for us and we named it after him as 'Chicken Sanju Baba' on the menu card.
"He also gave me his written consent to prepare and sell it to our patrons," said Hakim, who is the third generation owner of the restaurant opened in 1923.
Over the years, 'Chicken Sanju Baba' ranks among the top customer choice on the menu along with other traditional favourites.
Dutt even credited the hotel for the dish named after him in a television interview, Hakim said with a tinge of pride in his voice.
"He is a big star, he could have easily sold the recipe to some five-star hotel and earn royalty for his whole life. But he gave it to our humble place. The least we can do is celebrate his release differently along with his fans and patrons on Thursday," Hakim said.
As per plans, the restaurant will serve 'Chicken Sanju Baba' to all patron and fans free from noon till midnight on Thursday as Dutt walks out to freedom after nearly three years in Yerawada Central Jail in Pune.
Incidentally, iconic painter late M.F. Husain -- who was a regular patron at the restaurant -- had created a special painting at his favourite eatery which enjoys a place of pride, said Hakim.
