News Agencies
Pune, Aug 27: The expansive handshakes they had with actor Sanjay Dutt outside the Yerawada jail gate after he was released on bail on Thursday have landed nine constables in trouble, with authorities ordering suspension of one and instituting an inquiry against the others.
A constable who hugged Dutt, convicted under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, has been suspended, while the eight whose friendly gestures towards ‘Munnabhai’ of the silver screen were seen live on TV channels, will be facing a departmental probe, jail superintendent Rajendra Dhamne said on Sunday. As the actor came out of the jail gates following the Supreme Court’s grant of interim bail on August 23, a group of constables on duty eagerly sought to shake hands with the Bollywood star, sentenced to six years rigorous imprisonment by a TADA court, without realising the gestures could be seen as incongruous with their khaki uniform.
“These men in uniform, by their gestures towards a convicted criminal, have violated the decorum and prison norms,” Dhamne said.
The action against the ‘friendly’ cops at Yerawada jail came consequent to a directive by Maharashtra deputy CM and home minister, R R Patil, in the wake of public criticism.
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