It wasn't his foolish mistake, Sanjay Dutt was in touch with Shakeel after blasts, say cops
[Editor: I would like to stress on two points here: (i) The Media brings two entities here in the form of Cop and Chota Shakeel, both of which are irrelevant after the apex court absolved him of "Bombay Blast case". Hence, what the cops say, does not mean anything, except for public consumption. Anyone can say anything, that hardly matters (ii) Keeping in touch with anyone does not automatically make the said person guilty. At that time or when the incident occurred it was an open secret that a good part of the film financing used to come from the Mumbai underworld. Hence, the actors unfortunately had to maintain some contacts with them. But that does not mean that if I have any relation with the gangster, I need to be a part of the crime. This is ridiculous and devoid of any logic. Once upon a time, Mr.L K Advani was an accused in the notorious "Hawala Scam", so does it mean that everyone who had relationship with him, should be guilty if he were convicted? This does not make any sense!!]
Actor Sanjay Dutt's friends and family have defended his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts as a "foolish mistake", calling for his jail sentence to be revoked.
But Mumbai police say the five-year sentence he was awarded on Thursday was nothing more than a rap on the knuckles for the actor, considering the "camaraderie" he shared with mastermind Dawood Ibrahim's right hand man Chhota Shakeel till long after the attacks.
"It wasn't a foolish mistake. Dutt has been in touch with the underworld all along," said a senior police officer. Between October 27 and November 30, 2000, the police had recorded 32 conversations between film financier Bharat Shah and Shakeel to investigate the former's connections with Dawood.
Take Our Poll: Should Sanjay Dutt be Pardoned?
In one of the conversations that took place on November 14, Dutt is heard telling Shakeel about a T-shirt the actor had purchased for him.
In yet another, the Munnabhai star talks about having discussed something with the "boss", presumably Dawood, before Shakeel asks him to refrain from "talking about this in front of people".
Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, too, has slammed efforts to get a pardon for Dutt. "Had he informed the police about the contraband (weapons) arriving in the city, the blasts could probably have been prevented," he said.
But Mumbai police say the five-year sentence he was awarded on Thursday was nothing more than a rap on the knuckles for the actor, considering the "camaraderie" he shared with mastermind Dawood Ibrahim's right hand man Chhota Shakeel till long after the attacks.
"It wasn't a foolish mistake. Dutt has been in touch with the underworld all along," said a senior police officer. Between October 27 and November 30, 2000, the police had recorded 32 conversations between film financier Bharat Shah and Shakeel to investigate the former's connections with Dawood.
Take Our Poll: Should Sanjay Dutt be Pardoned?
In one of the conversations that took place on November 14, Dutt is heard telling Shakeel about a T-shirt the actor had purchased for him.
In yet another, the Munnabhai star talks about having discussed something with the "boss", presumably Dawood, before Shakeel asks him to refrain from "talking about this in front of people".
Public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, too, has slammed efforts to get a pardon for Dutt. "Had he informed the police about the contraband (weapons) arriving in the city, the blasts could probably have been prevented," he said.
Courtesy: India Today
