Amidst row over ‘VIP’ treatment, Dutt returns in private car

The BJP leaders were quick to point out that Dutt had been sentenced to six years imprisonment in connection with the Mumbai blasts case and was currently out on bail. State BJP General Secretary Shemsher Singh Manhas said by providing Government vehicles for Dutt and his companions and by arranging a comfortable journey for them from Jammu airport to Katra, the Congress-led coalition Government had not only flouted laws of the land but also given respectability to those who have been charged with some serious offence. Manhas alleged that the Congress flouted rules for Dutt as he belonged to a family of hardcore Congressmen.

On Monday, after reaching Jammu, the actor took a flight to New Delhi en route to his home in Mumbai. Dutt offered prayers on Sunday night at the Vaishno Devi cave shrine nestled in the Trikuta Hills. Accompanied by his girlfriend Manyata and two friends, Dutt also performed special aarti and donated money at the shrine.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police maintained that Dutt was provided security cover because of a threat perception as he was travelling in militant-infested area. Previously a number of militants, including a top Jaish-e-Mohammad chief, have been killed in encounters in the Trikuta hill area, leading to security fears. Superintendent of Police, Katra, Ashok Sharma, told The Indian Express that with Dutt being a celebrity, it was the duty of the police to provide him proper security cover in the area. “Had something happened to him, the same people who are raising questions over the VIP treatment accorded to him would have not stopped criticising the police,” he added.