Sanjay Dutt should face sentence gracefully: Bhagat Singh`s kin

Shirdi: Abhitej Singh Sandhu, grand-nephew of `Shaheed-e-Azam` Bhagat Singh, has opposed granting pardon to Sanjay Dutt in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case, saying the demand for clemency to the Bollywood actor tantamount to an "affront" to judiciary.

"What these political leaders, actors and others are doing by raising their voice requesting reprieve for Sanjay Dutt are in fact insulting the judicial system of the country", Sandhu told reporters yesterday after taking darshan of Saibaba at the famous shrine here. "The sentence awarded by respectable court is right and Sanjay Dutt should face it gracefully", he said. The supreme court in its recent verdict upheld the conviction of Dutt in the 1993 blasts case for illegal possession of arms and handed him down five-year imprisonment. The actor who has served 18 months in jail so far, will have to undergo the term of three-and-a-half-years. The Press Council of India chairman Justice (retd) Markandey Katju had raised the pitch seeking clemency for Dutt, besides Bollywood actors and some politicians. Sandhu said the country was still not out of its British hangover and was ruled by "Black Britishers". "Presently, our country is passing through darkness. The difference is that the Britishers are replaced by Black Britishers who have been ruling us now", he said. Sandhu said that the government "shrewdly divided" social activists Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Baba Ramdev who wanted to change the "corrupt system". "Even after so many years of independence, people are not getting adequate electricity and water supply, besides other basic amenities", he added. PTI