BJP asks Patil to cancel Dutt's parole

BJP today asked Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil to cancel the parole granted to Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, who is undergoing imprisonment in a Pune jail, and initiate action against the officer who approved the relief.
"He (Dutt) has already availed of the facility and it is outside the norms to grant it to him again. Patil should initiate a probe into this," said Gopinath Munde, Deputy Leader of BJP in Lok Sabha.
"The Home Minister should cancel the parole as he has the authority to do so. He should initiate action against the concerned officer," Munde told reporters here.

Meanwhile, taking note of the controversy, Patil has ordered an inquiry to ascertain the basis for granting parole to Dutt.
"The parole has been granted by the Divisional Commissioner. We are looking into the matter and have sought documents which formed the basis for allowing his release on parole," he told reporters earlier in the day.
Pune Divisional Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh had yesterday granted parole to the actor, undergoing the remainder of his five-year jail term for possessing illegal firearms, part of a cache of weapons meant to be used during the 1993 blasts, on the recommendation of prison authorities.

The development has kicked off a major controversy as it will allow the 53-year-old actor to leave prison for the second time in a little over a month.

"We learnt that Dutt was granted parole as his wife was ill. Only doctors can comment on her health but media is showing visuals of her attending a film function the previous day," Munde said.
"I am surprised that Patil wasn't aware of the parole development," said Munde, a former Maharashtra deputy chief minister.
"Only two people are authorised to grant parole. One is the Home Minister and the other is the Divisional Commissioner," Munde said.