Monica Bedi at Delhi airport on Wednesday. (AFP)

Hyderabad, July 25: A smiling Monica Bedi today finally walked to freedom with her father by her side, but rued how blindly trusting people had landed her in trouble.

Without naming gangster Abu Salem, the small-time starlet released on bail in a passport forgery case said she had learnt a lot during her 20-month stint in jail and would be more cautious in the future.

“My sojourn in jail has taught me much about life and people. I blindly trusted some earlier,” she said, possibly referring to her gangster-companion with whom she was in Portugal before getting entwined in the forgery case.

“I am happy I got justice and I thank God for hearing my prayers,” she said after stepping out of Chanchalguda jail at 7.45am and heading for the airport to catch a flight to her native Hoshiarpur in Punjab.

“I have a bright future and have a lot to do and achieve. I will forget my past as a dream and take the future as a challenge,” she told reporters at the airport.

Although the CBI-designated court approved her bail on Tuesday — the Supreme Court had granted it in May this year but Monica could not be freed as another forgery case was pending in Bhopal — the relevant documents could not be submitted to the jail by sundown.

“I cannot release her if the papers are not submitted before 6pm as laid down by the regulations,” said Sharada, the jail superintendent.

Monica said her immediate priority was to spend time with her family, although she had begun getting film offers.

“I want to spend some time with my family in my native place in Hoshiarpur. Later, I will decide about my future.

“I will come to Hyderabad soon as I am getting offers both from Mumbai and Hyderabad,” she beamed, adding that she was not in a hurry to get married right away.

The starlet will be staying in her native village Chhabewal, as laid down by the Supreme Court, and will not be allowed to leave the country without permission.

Her father, Prem Kumar Bedi, said Monica had suffered a lot in the last five years. “She will consider returning to films after a few days of rest,” he said.

Monica’s lawyer Pradeep Kumar was, however, more guarded. “She is finally out of jail. But her future will depend on the proceedings of a criminal conspiracy case and other cases pending against Abu Salem,” he said.

The starlet was deported from Portugal along with Salem in November 2005 and lodged in Chanchalguda prison. She had acquired a fake passport in 2001 from Kurnool in Andhra in the name of Sana Kamal Malik.