Reacting to the verdict on Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, diamond merchant and film financier Bharat Shah said, "It's a relief for Sanjay. If he was found guilty in the conspiracy charge, his life would have been finished."
Shah, who has sentenced to prison a couple of years ago, added, "I think 90 per cent of Sanjay's worries are over. Now, only the tail remains trapped. He will be able to handle this and get out of the mess. Sanjay has already spent some time in jail. That will be deducted from the final imprisonment. I think he will be fine soon."
"Sanjay is not a terrorist," Shah emphasised. "All of us knew that. We also know that he is not a part of the underworld. Sanjay was wrongly fixed in the conspiracy case."
"He might have been childish in doing a few things. (But) the police case against him never had steam. It was always on weak ground," Shah added. "But when a celebrity gets trapped in such cases, they have to suffer more."
Leading director Karan Johar [Images] said, "It is heartening to know that finally the verdict is out, and he has not been convicted for any conspiracy."
Meanwhile at the International Film Festival of India in Goa [Images], Dutt's friends and colleagues had prayers for the actor. "It is very sad news. I worked with him and I know him to be a nice man. He has bounced back from a lot of lows in his life including (his father) Sunil Duttsaab passing away. I can only say that my prayers are with him," said actress Nandita Das, who worked with Sanjay in Mahesh Manjrekar's Pitaah.
She, however, appealed to the media not to sensationalise the news, saying, "I know the media will have a field day with this news. But let us not be voyeuristic about this. He is going through a hard time. "Justice should be done, irrespective of whether he is a big star or not. Let us not target him just because he is a star, nor should he be dealt with leniently because of his celebrity status," she said.
Raima Sen [Images], Sanjay's co-star in Eklavya, too had sympathetic words. "It is a very sad time for him. My thoughts are with him. I just heard the news and will be SMS-ing him soon," she said.
With inputs from PTI
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