Celebrities behind bars

World over, it seems to be the season for the celebrities to cool their heels behind bars. The latest being our own Sanju Baba. With the end of the 14 year long case of the BOMBAY BLAST, Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to 6 years of Rigorous imprisonment.

I thought it was unbecoming of the Film fraternity to openly tag it as a sad moment. Sanjay was an actor, accepted. An actor, who has dished out good films and good performances. But this cannot ever become a reason for pardoning of a crime committed by him. Law should stand above the status or importance of an individual. There are accusations of other celebrities/politicians being let off free in other high profile cases and Sanjay alone being punished for his crime. Well, if this is the first time that a celebrity has been punished, so be it. Let this be the beginning and be a reference to other high profile cases in the future.

Personally, I feel the punishment could have been more severe. Being an actor, in a capacity to cast a spell of his own on-screen personality on fragile young minds of the country, he might for all be giving a wrong sense of social message being involved in such a ghastly crime and let off free on the grounds of it being a 'Small mistake committed 14 years ago'

There has to be a fear and respect for the Law, and public awareness that, irrespective of the stature of the person in the society, a criminal act would be punished.