Salman gets 5 years in jail
Other actors acquitted; Khan lodged in Jodhpur jail, will move bail plea today
JODHPUR: Movie star Salman Khan was convicted by a Jodhpur court on Thursday for poaching blackbuck, a protected antelope species, on a location shoot 20 years ago in Rajasthan and sentenced to five years in prison, a verdict that dismayed Bollywood and pleased animal conservationists.
The 52-year-old was immediately lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail in a cell adjoining self-styled religious leader Asaram Bapu’s, who’s in jail charged with rape. In jail, Salman Khan will sleep on the floor and get only a ceiling fan to beat the heat. He will be treated like any other prisoner and will have to follow the jail schedule.
Khan’s counsel Mahesh Bora said the sessions court will hear the actor’s appeal on Friday to suspend the sentence. He said Khan will get bail if the sentence is suspended.
Khan’s co-stars in the film Hum Saath Saath Hain (1999), Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam and a local resident, Dushyant Singh, who were filming the movie on location when the blackbuck poaching took place,were given the benefit of doubt and acquitted by chief judicial magistrate (CJM) Dev Kumar Khatri.
The court, which also fined Khan ~10,000, found him guilty under section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection Act), said public prosecutor Bhawani Singh. Section 9 prohibits hunting of any wild animal specified by the Act.
The court observed: “The statements of the eyewitnesses prove that Salman Khan was driving a Gypsy on the night of the incident and Saif Ali Khan was sitting near the seat, but the statements of the witnesses did not prove that Saif Ali Khan or others accused Neelam, Tabu, Sonali and Dushyant Singh instigated Khan to poach the animals. The presence of the other accused at the scene is proven but the involvement in unlawful assembly at the spot is not proved.”
CJM Khatri added: “The prosecution has proved beyond doubt the case of hunting two blackbucks against Salman, but the case against the other accused does not prove beyond doubt, hence the other accused are given the benefit of doubt.”
As the verdict was delivered, tight security was in place. Rooftop snipers were deployed in the Jodhpur court.
One platoon of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary was deployed on the court campus.