New Delhi
Bollywood actor Salman Khan was on Thursday sentenced to five years imprisonment by a Jodhpur court for killing two blackbucks during a film shoot in Rajasthan in 1998. The court also slapped him with a fine of Rs 10,000.
The actor was found guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 for killing the endangered blackbuck species, hunting of which is prohibited by law. The court also acquitted all the other accused including Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu; citing lack of evidence. Khan will be lodged in the Jodhpur Central Jail, where he will have to spend his night today. His bail application will be heard in the Jodhpur session court tomorrow.
The case against Salman Khan dates back to October 1998, when he was accused of killing two blackbucks in Kankani village in Jodhpur while shooting for the film “Hum Saath Saath Hain.” Khan was charged under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act and other actors – Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam – were charged under section 51 read with section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The trial of the case was in progress since the last 19 years. The final arguments in the case were completed on March 28 in the court of the chief judicial magistrate, Jodhpur Rural, Dev Kumar Khatri and the judgment was reserved for Thursday.
The Bishnoi community in Rajasthan has expressed displeasure over the acquittal of Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre. “We’ll analyse the judgement. We want an immediate appeal to be filed against those who have been acquitted,”Rampal Bhawad, State President, Bishnoi Tigers Vanya Evam Paryavaran Sanstha told.
Back in 2006, a trial court in Jodhpur had convicted Khan in two of the poaching cases and he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 25,000. After spending a few days in judicial custody, Khan had appealed against the decision of the trial court which finally led to his acquittal by the Rajasthan High Court in 2016. Khan was also accused of hunting two chinkaras. He was acquitted by the Rajasthan High Court in 2016. The Rajasthan government had appealed against the decision in the Supreme Court, which is currently pending.
