Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; September 23, 2015)

When Sanjay Dutt walked out of Pune’s Yerwada jail on a month-long parole, he set tongues wagging about his frequent leave — the actor has been out of prison for around five months in two years. Faced with a barrage of criticism for ‘misusing’ his ‘status, influence and popularity’ as a Bollywood star, the actor is trying to keep a low profile this time round, claim sources. He has been spotted only twice since his parole period began.

Says a source, “Sanjay applied for parole in June citing ill-health of his daughter, Iqra. He wants to avoid the media at all costs. His frequent leaves of furlough have invited a lot of criticism from various quarters. Many felt that he was getting special treatment because of his status and clout.” The actor was seen on the sets of Sanjay Gupta’s Jazbaa and more recently, at Salman Khan’s Ganpati festivities. Dutt was lodged in prison in May 2013 after he surrendered before the TADA court following his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

A source close to Dutt, however, argues, “Sanju is not trying to fight shy of media attention. It was a conscious decision on his part to spend more time with family, especially the kids. He went out on a couple of occasions as it was necessary.”

In October 2013, Dutt was granted furlough for 14 days, which was extended by a fortnight. In January 2014, he was granted parole for 30 days, which was extended by 60 days. He was again granted a 14-day furlough in December 2014, which was not extended following massive criticism.

Dutt was unavailable for comment.