India | Updated Jul 31, 2007 at 08:51pm IST

I'll go to jail in Sanjay's place, says a fan

Mumbai: Century Bazaar in Worli was the site of the deadliest of the 1993 serial blasts. It killed 113 people and while actor Sanjay Dutt's friends and fans may be rooting for him on Tuesday, for the survivors of the blasts whose family members were taken away from them, the wounds still run too deep, and six years is not enough.

“He should have got more, so that other big stars learn a lesson from it,” said a blast victim's brother, Vinayak Devrukhkar.

Among the 113 casualties in Worli were Vinayak Devrukhkar's 11-year-old brother, and 21-year-old sister. His father is a broken man and Dutt's verdict is too little, too late.

“They say he was shaking in the courtroom, and sweat was streaming down his face. But what about the tears that we were shedding all these years?” asked Devrukhkar.

But the actor's staunch fans are shedding tears for a different reason. Their beloved Sunju baba, they say, has suffered enough.

“Yes, I am ready to go in his place (to jail),” said a fan.

“The punishment was required, but six years is too harsh,” said another.

“How can you make him do six years just for possessing a gun?” asked yet another.

Justice often has two faces and as the longest trial in Indian history comes to a close. What is now paramount for both sides is the sense of closure it brings with it.

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