Dutt feeling suffocated in 'Anda' cell, pleads to be shifted

Lodged in an egg-shaped high-security 'Anda' cell, actor Sanjay Dutt is feeling "suffocated" in its confines, which are generally used to house terror suspects and hardcore criminals, and pleaded a TADA court today to shift him to another cell as he is not a terrorist.

Rizwan Merchant, counsel for Dutt, made an oral plea before the court here to shift the filmstar from 'Anda' cell in Arthur Road Central Prison to some other cell, saying "the actor felt suffocated in this chamber due to insufficient ventilation."

He said generally terrorists or hardcore criminals are kept in 'Anda' cell to segregate them from other prisoners for security reasons.

Dutt has not been convicted under TADA and was not a terrorist. He was convicted under Arms Act and as such he should not be lodged in the egg-shaped cell, Rizwan pleaded.

The lawyer maintained maintained that the cell has insufficient ventilation and does not get proper light.

Designated Judge G A Sanap asked him to move a written application in this regard so that he would pass an order after hearing the prosecution. Merchant said he would file an application later.

The 53-year-old actor was taken to the jail in central Mumbai last night after he surrendered before TADA Court in keeping with the Supreme Court deadline to complete his remaining 42-month sentence in the 1993 bomb blast case. He has already spent 18 months in jail.

The SC, in March this year, reduced Dutt's sentence to five years from the six-year jail term awarded to him by TADA Court in 2006 for illegal possession of arms.