Mumbai: Gangster Abu Salem has denied in his statement before the TADA court here that he went to the house of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt and gave him two AK-47 rifles and hand grenades prior to the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Dutt was convicted in the 1993 blasts case for possession of an AK-47 rifle and sentenced to five years in jail. Salem on Tuesday submitted his statement to the court under section 313 of Criminal Procedure Code, which enables the accused to personally explain any circumstances appearing in the evidence against him or her.

Salem, Riyaz Siddiqui, Karimullah Khan, Feroze Abdul Rashid, Tahir Merchant and Mustafa Dossa are facing trial now as they were arrested in the case later. The court had in 2006 convicted 100 accused, including Yakub Memon who was hanged last month. "It is also false that two or three days later he, along with other accused, (again) went to Dutt's house and brought (back) a bag containing two rifles, bullets and grenades," the statement says. Salem also contends in the statement that his trial, after the termination of extradition order by Portuguese court, is "illegal, unwarranted and bad in law." In January 2012, Portugal's Supreme Court upheld an order which cancelled Salem's extradition from that country because Indian authorities slapped some charges attracting death penalty on him, violating the terms of extradition.

Extradition was based on false information and documents given to the government of Portugal, he adds. Further, CBI did not place all the relevant documents before the TADA court regarding the extradition and hence the court was misled into framing additional charges, it says. The trial "on the basis of police custody, forced confession and new fabricated material" is illegal, it says. The statement claims that Salem did not know any of the co-accused of the blasts conspiracy.

Salem has also given names of three witnesses whom he wants to examine: former CBI officer O P Chatwal and two officials from the Ministry of External Affairs. Meanwhile, the first defence witness, called by co-accused Feroze Abdul Rashid, today deposed and said he did not identify Feroze; the man in the dock was not the same person as his classmate Feroze.

During the cross-examination, when the prosecutor asked about the witness' company defrauding some persons to the tune of Rs 26 crore, he asked for water and requested that the deposition may be continued some other day. It was then adjourned. Thirteen powerful blasts had ripped through Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing at least 257 people and injured 713.

Mumbai:In a fresh trouble for the actor who is presently lodged in Pune jail, a probe by Maharashtra prison authorities has concluded that the actor flouted rules by overstaying his last furlough by two day
The Maharashtra prison authorities have submitted a report to the State Home department indicting Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt for flouting the prison norms by overstaying for two days after his furlough ended in January, 2015.

The indictment might brew fresh troubles for Mr. Dutt. According to a senior official who spoke to The Hindu on the condition of anonymity Mr. Dutt’s future furlough might be reduced by 10 days.

“According to the jail manual, for every one day of overstaying after the furlough period five days are reduce in future furlough,” the source explained.

Mr.Dutt who was granted furlough in the last week of December had moved another application on 27th December seeking an extension of 14 days on health grounds.

A furlough is leave from prison that every convict is entitled to by way of right. A prisoner is entitled to be released on furlough for 14 days in a year. However, he may seek a 14-day extension by citing reasons for it. For this, the prisoner has to submit an application to the prison superintendent.

Mr. Dutt's lawyer however claimed that on January 8 news channels reported that the actor's plea for extension was pending. A Minister was reportedly told the actor not surrender due to this. This prompted Mr. Dutt to 'return'.

The jail authorities, however, claim otherwise. They said Mr. Dutt never reported at Yerawada jail on January 8th. The incident created a row and also exposed the lacuna in the system.

The newly formed BJP government had ordered a probe over the episode.

Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who is out of jail on a 14-day furlough, today left his home here to surrender himself, after prison authorities refused to extend his leave.

“Our department had asked the police authorities to give us a report on his (Dutt’s) extension. We wanted to know what are the reasons sought by him and how genuine they are. But we have not received any report as yet,” a top official from Maharashtra Home department told PTI.

The 55-year-old actor, convicted in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and destroying it, was released on a 14-day leave of furlough by the Pune’s Yerawada Central Jail authorities on December 24 last year.

Dutt, while leaving his home, told reporters that he had applied for an extension of furlough on December 27, and that the application is “still under process.”

“We had requested for an extension of furlough on December 27 which is still under process. Since the law stipulates that I should surrender myself before authorities if I am not granted an extension, I am going to do so now,” the actor said.

Dutt was previously granted furlough in October 2013 for 28 days on health grounds, followed by a similar leave in December 2013, to tend to his “ailing” wife Manyata.

A controversy had erupted when newspapers published photographs of Ms. Manyata reportedly attending a film screening, thereby raising eyebrows on the actor’s claims as grounds for leave.

Dutt is undergoing the remainder of his five-year jail term for possessing illegal firearm that was part of a cache of weapons meant to be used during the 1993 blasts.