Salman gets 5-year jail term in blackbuck poaching case, sent to Jodhpur jail
Jodhpur, Apr 5 : A Jodhpur court today sentenced Bollywood superstar Salman Khan to five years in prison and sent him to the Jodhpur Central Jail for killing two blackbucks in October 1998.
The court acquitted his colleagues Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre and a local, Dushyant Singh, giving them the “benefit of doubt”, a prosecution lawyer said.
Stargazers, media crews and security personnel swarmed the court premises and lined up along the two kilometre route from the court as the 52-year-old was whisked away in a Bolero police jeep to spend a night in jail.
This is his fourth stint in the Jodhpur Central Jail, which also houses religious preacher Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of rape.
Jail sources said Salman, arguably India’s most successful actor, was lodged in barrack number 2 in a heavily protected and secure.
Salman has earlier spent a total of 18 days in the jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007, all for cases of poaching.
As the sentence is more than three years, Salman will have to appeal in a higher court for bail.
Final arguments in this case were completed in the trial court on March 28, after which Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved his judgment.
Today, the court sentenced him to five years in jail and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, prosecution lawyer Mahipal Bishnoi said.
Held guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, he had faced a maximum punishment of six years behind bars.
The actor shot and killed the blackbucks, from the antelope family, in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the night of October 1, 1998 during the shooting of the film “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.
Blackbuck is an endangered animal and included in the schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act-1972.
All the actors were in a Gypsy that night with Salman in the driving seat. He spotted a herd of blackbucks and killed two of them, the lawyer said.
All the accused, some of them accompanied by their family members, were in the courtroom when the verdict was read out.
The case was under the national spotlight today with the media monitoring every development, his legion of fans tuned into social media and television and trade analysts watching anxiously to know the fate of the star who has an estimated Rs 600 riding on his next ventures — “Race 3”, “Bharat” and “Dabangg 3”.
“All his films make a minimum of Rs 200 crore. There are three films already announced. ‘Race 3’ is the biggest Eid release. So, approximately Rs 600 crore…,” trade analyst Girish Wankhede told PTI.
Salman also had a jail stint in Mumbai when he was also involved in a hit and run. His white Toyota Land Cruiser allegedly crashed into American Express Bakery at Hill Road at Bandra in Mumbai, killing one person and injuring four on September 28, 2002.
He was acquitted in the case but the Maharashtra government has filed an appeal.
Targeted for star status, justice delivered: Mixed voices on Salman verdict
Mumbai, Apr 5 : The Hindi film industry erupted with outrage and concern as Salman Khan was today sentenced to five years in jail for killing endangered blackbucks, with many of his colleagues stressing that the successful actor had been punished because he was a star, and just a few pointing out that justice had been delivered.
As the 52-year-old actor’s friends and colleagues reacted with shock over the jail term for the superstar in the 1998 poaching case, director Subhash Ghai said Khan was likely to appeal to a higher court.
“I am extremely shocked,” Ghai, who has worked with Khan in several films, tweeted. The director said he had “full trust in the Indian judiciary which has many other doors” for an “appeal for final justice”.
Friends started tweeting and fans began to gather outside Khan’s house in Galaxy Apartment, Bandra, soon after the verdict was announced. A police van has been stationed outside his house since the morning.
“I don’t know how to react. I am numb. I hope he stays strong. His fans will always love him,” a young devotee, standing outside the actor’s house, said.
Khan was taken to the Jodhpur Central Jail after he was convicted of gunning down two blackbuck 20 years ago in Rajasthan, where he was shooting for “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.
His co-stars in the film — Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre — were acquitted in the case, with the judge of the sessions court giving them the “benefit of the doubt”.
Neelam’s husband, actor-director Samir Soni, said though he was happy for his wife, he believed Khan had been targeted for his star status.
“I have mixed emotions right now. I am happy for Neelam and the rest. It is a 20- year-old ordeal. I don’t know why Salman was singled out. It seems his (star) status has come in the way,” Soni told PTI
Many, including Ghai, sought to stress that Khan was a “nice” man.
He was “most loved … for his human reasons too”, Ghai tweeted.
Act0r-Parliamentarian Jaya Bachchan said the punishment was harsh, and added that Khan had done “a lot of humanitarian work”.
“I feel bad. He should be given relief. He has done a lot of humanitarian work,” she told reporters outside Parliament.
Actor Himani Shivpuri, who played Khan’s aunt in the film, said he was a “nice individual” who was “near and dear” to her.
The judiciary’s verdict, however, had to be respected, she said, adding that the blackbuck was an endangered species, sacred to the Bishnoi tribe.
“…I feel if you are killing or shooting an innocent animal (and) it is against the law, then the law has every right to pass a judgement. I am saddened as Salman is a nice individual but if a nice individual commits a mistake then he should be able to bear the consequences,” Shivpuri told PTI.
Actor Alok Nath, Khan’s on-screen father in the 1999 film, was more cautious in his reaction.
“It is the honourable court’s judgement, so we have to take it and respect it as they have studied the case for 20 years,” he said.
Singer-writer Sona Mohapatra, without taking names, was sharply critical of the actor and the fraternity.
“So…will daddy say sorry on his behalf? What will the suck ups in the industry do? When’s bail? When’s the next block buster release? Dabangg ‘concert’ tour dates? Bigg Boss? Charity drives,” she tweeted.
Actor Arjun Rampal tweeted to say the decision seemed a bit “too harsh”.
“The law takes its course. Can’t argue (with) it. But at this point in time I just feel helpless and my heart goes out to @BeingSalmanKhan and his family. Reason, cause the last thing @BeingSalmanKhan is, is a criminal.I feel this is too harsh. I do hope he gets the relief he deserves,” the actor said.
Filmmaker Anil Sharma, who directed Khan in “Veer”, said he hoped the actor would soon get bail.
“It’s very disturbing. Salman is my colleague, we have worked together. When something like this happens with your colleague you are bound to feel sad. We were hopeful he won’t be sentenced but now we hope he gets bail soon,” he told PTI.
Actor Dalip Tahil expressed concern that only Khan was convicted, while the others were all acquitted.
“I am still trying to get my head around the decision. You target him…where is the justice in this? You completely acquit the rest of the people. If they were there… they were also a part of the crime,” Tahil told a TV channel.
The fan outside Khan’s house said he had hoped the actor would be acquitted.
“After seeing him battle these hearings year after year, we had somehow thought he would never go to jail. But this is so shocking. I hope he stays strong,” he said.
