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MUMBAI - Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, jailed for six years for receiving guns from gangsters involved in the country's worst bombings, was released from prison on bail in western India early on Thursday.
Dutt, sporting a beard and a shaved head, walked free following 24 days in jail
and after being granted bail by the Supreme Court on Monday while his lawyers challenge the conviction.
"I knew he would walk out free. I'm so happy," Trishala Dutt, the actor's daughter and a U.S. resident, told local television by telephone. "I can't believe it's happening."
The macho actor began serving his six-year sentence on July 31 -- less the 16 months he served while awaiting trial over the bomb attacks that killed 257 people in India's commercial capital of Mumbai in 1993.
Dutt, 48, stepped out of the jail in Pune city and shook the hands of police officers before leaving for home.
Dressed in a white, striped shirt, he was received by a few friends and lawyers, flown to Mumbai in a private jet and then driven to his house in a black limousine.
The actor, who earned fame playing anti-hero and gangster roles, was welcomed by family and friends, some of whom had arrived from overseas. A coconut was broken at the doorstep as an auspicious ritual and part of an emotional reception.
At Dutt's home in a swish Mumbai neighborhood, his family was preparing for a special thanksgiving prayer to be performed by Hindu priests.
Dutt told reporters outside his house that he was too tired to speak but would hold a news conference later.
His sister Priya, a lawmaker in India's lower house of parliament, hugged him. Dozens of fans gathered outside his home.
JUBILANT BOLLYWOOD
But the respite for Dutt could be temporary.
His lawyers had petitioned the country's top court against his conviction and sought bail until that appeal was ruled on.
They said they could not argue the case as they were yet to get a copy of the judgment of the Mumbai court that sentenced Dutt. The court agreed to release the actor until the lawyers get a copy of the verdict.
Court officials said Dutt could be served a copy in a month's time, after which he might have to go back to jail.
Dutt's temporary release was welcomed by Bollywood, which has stood solidly behind a man they think was impulsive but had suffered enough for his indiscretions.
"The last 14 years of uncertainty and anxiety and the jail terms in between have been enough punishment for him," said Ravi Chopra, a top Bollywood producer. "The court can now be lenient."
Dutt has about $12 million riding on him -- a substantial amount by Bollywood standards -- in three films under production.
"We can think about him working later. What's important now is for him to spend time with his family," his lawyer Satish Maneshinde told Reuters.
Dutt's lawyers have argued that his conviction by a special anti-terrorism court in Mumbai was based on a confession that he had later retracted.
"A retracted confession is a weak piece of evidence," the petition said, arguing that the conviction should also be overturned because no arms or ammunition were ever recovered from Dutt or his home.
It urged the court to award him some form of punishment other than jail.
Dutt was among the last of 100 people convicted in the blast case. One of the highest paid actors in India, Dutt tried his hand at carpentry as prison labor for which he was paid less than a dollar a day.
- REUTERS
