In a hush-hush pre-dawn operation, Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt was today shifted to Yerwada jail in Pune from Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail to undergo the remaining 42 months sentence in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case.

53-year-old Dutt was taken from Arthur Road jail after midnight in a well-guarded operation by authorities who wanted to avoid the media hype and glare during the three-hour travel between Mumbai and Pune, a jail official said.

“Sanjay Dutt was escorted to Pune jail at about 4 a.m. from Mumbai. There were three police vans that took him to the Pune jail,” the official said. Security reasons were also cited for the secret operation.

According to sources, Dutt would be kept in a high security cell in Yerwada jail.

Dutt had been lodged at the ‘Anda Cell’ (egg-shaped) in the high security block in Arthur Road jail since May 16 after he surrendered before the TADA court in Mumbai.

Meeran Borwankar, Additional Director General (Prisons), Maharashtra, when contacted did not give any details about the arrangements being made, if any, inside the Yerwada jail.

The Supreme Court in its March 21 verdict reduced Dutt’s jail term from six years to five years for illegal possession of arms. The actor had already served 18 months behind bars.

Dutt had surrendered before a designated Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) court as the apex court on May 14 refused to grant him more time to give himself up for undergoing the remaining period of his five-year jail term.

On May 10, the Supreme Court had dismissed Dutt’s plea seeking review of its judgment on his conviction and the five-year jail term.

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