Sanjay Dutt set for sentencing in Mumbai bombings case

[zaheema]

Bollywood star Sanjay Dutt, convicted of buying illegal weapons from gangsters involved in India's worst bombings, will appear in court on Friday for possible sentencing.

Dutt, 47, was cleared of conspiracy in the serial bombings of 1993 in Mumbai that killed 257 people, but found guilty of illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and a pistol.

Dutt's crime carries a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison.

His lawyers have urged that the actor, who found fame playing gangsters and anti-heroes, be set free for his good behaviour during his bail.

The heavy-set actor has been on bail since 1995 after more than a year in prison during initial investigations into the blasts.

Dutt is the most high-profile among 100 people, mostly Muslims, found guilty in the bombings trial, one of the world's longest-running court cases, which ended last year.

So far, 28 people, including five policemen, have been handed jail terms ranging from three years to life and fines for abetment.

Police say the attacks were ordered by India's most wanted man, Dawood Ibrahim, a Muslim, to avenge the razing of a 16th-century mosque by Hindu zealots in 1992.