Faced with criticism over granting parole to Bollywood actor and 1993 Mumbai blast convict Sanjay Dutt, Pune Divisional Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh clarified that he gave the green signal only after the Mumbai police sent a report that verified the claim that Dutt’s wife Maanyata was unwell and needed treatment.
Deshmukh said that he had rejected the first report by the Mumbai police on the ground that it did not follow the procedure laid down by the government. Dutt first applied for parole on July 26. As per the guidelines, the local Assistant Commissioner of Police is required to conduct an investigation to verify the claims made in a parole application.
The first report submitted on September 16 by Bandra ACP Shivajirao Kolekar was found unsatisfactory by Deshmukh. “The report was ambiguous and unclear. The police had not taken any stand, neither had they conducted any enquiry into the grounds for the parole. They had only suggested that it should be approved,” said Deshmukh on Sunday. “There was no medical report attached, neither was the doctor’s recommendation mentioned.”About this, ACP Kolekar said: “I receive many applications for parole and don’t recollect clearing the actor’s.”
The second report submitted to Deshmukh on November 26 fulfilled the required criteria. “This report made it clear that Maanyata Dutt had a tumour in her liver which needed treatment.”
Twitteratis lashed out against this development with tags. There was an influx of tweets directed at the justice system and disparity between treatment meted out to cases involving celebrities and poor citizens.