Salman Khan has been found guilty in the Blackbuck poaching case whereas the other four – Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu have been acquitted by the Jodhpur court on Thursday and he may face punishment up to maximum 6 years.
As per a lawyer who is also involved in the case,
“The court has convicted Khan under section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. All other accused have been acquitted of the charges that they faced.”
In October 1998, Salman was found involved in the killing of two blackbucks in Kankani village, Jodhpur, and he was booked under Section 51 of the Wildlife Protection Act. In addition, he was charged for possession of an arm with expired licence while the other four actors were booked under Sec 51 along with Sec 149 (unlawful assembly) of IPC.
Dev Kumar Khatri, Jodhpur Rural court’s chief judicial magistrate, heard the final arguments of both the parties on March 28 and reserved the judgment for April 5. Earlier in 2016, Rajasthan High Court acquitted the “Sultan” actor from the poaching case of two chinkaras and in Jan, 2017, the chief judicial magistrate, Jodhpur, acquitted him in another case related to Indian Arms Act as he got the benefit of doubt.
In 2006, Salman was sentenced to five years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 25,000 in two cases of Chinkara killing by a trial court. Salman did spend some days in judicial custody but he was acquitted in the case by Rajasthan High Court in 2016. The Rajasthan government decided to appeal in SC against this decision of Rajasthan High Court, however it is still pending.
The case in which the decision has come today is the final case of poaching and the decision has come after almost 20 yrs. It happened when these actors were in Jodhpur and shooting for movie “Hum Saath Saath Hain.”
Twitter has also reacted on the verdict and here are some selected tweets:
1.
For a Change Salman Khan Convicted in Jodhpur Court for poaching Blackbuck 😊 later in higher court Black Buck gonna be found Guilty for being in Bhai's Shooting Range….#BlackBuckPoachingCase #SalmanKhan
— Proud Indian (@shaikhinzi7) April 5, 2018
2.
And now director n producer will come forward and ask his bail else industry will have huge loss…
Our industry should make the rule no producer or director will approach the actor and actress if they are having any running case against them— Koreawale 🇮🇳 (@diodetransistor) April 5, 2018
3.
. @BeingSalmanKhan convicted by Jodhpur Court.
thank god that this time it was not that the blackbuck committed suicide 😂😂🤣#BlackBuckPoachingCase #SalmanKhan
— Sushant Kumar Rai (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Skraivns) April 5, 2018
4.
https://twitter.com/dude_bachcha/status/981774061687554048
5.
https://twitter.com/Swaps_2017/status/981784543744135168
6.
https://twitter.com/HereIsPranav/status/981789453328011264
7.
So the Bhai of B-town @BeingSalmanKhan is convicted by jodhpur court in blackbuck poaching case. And the rest brigade is acquitted. Now what next for the Dabang khan ?
Jail or Bail !!!— Chirag Panchal (@iamchirag29) April 5, 2018
8.
Please dont jump the gun .. In higher court it will again be proved that Black buck committed suicide and Bhai is as always innocent..
— Karan Kapoor (@karannkapoor18) April 5, 2018
9.
I never shot at #BlackBuck , my Gun did
~ Salman Khan#Jodhpur court Convicted Salman Khan & acquitted rest 5…Hope Sallu Bhai will be acquitted by Rajasthan High Court by today like #HitandRunCase 😂😂#BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/13il0FTHDG
— Vijay Kumar (@MyVoise) April 5, 2018
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