Salman Khan's bail plea may be heard on Friday, actor taken to Jodhpur Central Jail from court
Jodhpur/Mumbai, Apr 4 (IBNS): The bail plea of actor Salman Khan -- who has been give a five-year jail sentence by a Jodhpur court on Thursday in the blackbuck poaching case -- is likely to be taken up on Friday, according to media reports.
The actor was whisked away to Jodhpur Central Jail from the court itself after the verdict was delivered by Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri.
The actor was also fined Rs. 10,000.
The four other co-accused – Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam – have been acquitted.
The Bishnoi community, known for their deep respect for their forests and animals, expressed satisfaction over the verdict.
Speaking to NDTV, soon after the verdict, Om Prakash Bishnoi, General Secretary of the Bishnoi Tiger Force, described how the locals did not give up their fight through the years and though the actor has been convicted, why the other three are let off, he questioned.
"They were all together in the vehicle, encouraging Salman Khan," said Om Prakash Bishnoi in his interview.
On the other hand, tweeted film maker Subhash Ghai, "I am extremely shocked to hear @BeingSalmanKhan being convicted by session court but also having full trust in indian judiciary which has many other doors to appeal for final justice whatsoever. Since He is most loved person by industry N people for his human reasons too."
The actors were accused of poaching a blackbuck, an endangered species protected under the Indian Wildlife Act, in Kankani village of Jodhpur during the shooting of film Hum Saath Saath Hain in September, 1998.
Khan was convicted under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
Final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court on March 28, after which chief judicial magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved the judgment for Thursday.
.
According to the complaint, Salman Khan had killed two black bucks. He was also charged for possessing a weapon with an expired license.
“All of them were in a Gypsy car that night, with Salman Khan in the driving seat. He, on spotting a herd of black bucks, shot at and killed two of them,” public prosecutor Bhawani Singh Bhati had said. “But on being spotted and chased, they fled from the spot leaving the dead animals there,” he said, adding that there was adequate evidence against them.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
