Actor Salman Khan sentenced to one year in jail for poaching



By IANS

Jodhpur, Feb 17 (IANS) Salman Khan, one of India's most popular actors, was sentenced to a year in jail by a court here Friday on charges of poaching endangered blackbuck deer in Rajasthan eight years ago.

Immediately after announcing its sentence, the court granted Salman bail and gave him 30 days to file an appeal in the sessions court.

As hundreds of fans and others massed the complex, the court pronounced its verdict shortly after holding him guilty under the provisions of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. The court also fined Salman Rs.5,000.

Salman, who currently has films worth Rs.1 billion riding on him, was accused of killing two endangered blackbuck deer - a crime under India's wildlife laws.

The court, however, acquitted Bollywood comedian Satish Shah and six others who were also accused in the case.

Salman's counsel Hastimal Saraswat told IANS: "Salman was given bail by the court immediately after the verdict, and we will approach the sessions court."

When the star arrived at the court Friday, his fans gathered outside greeted him with cries of "Salman zindabad!" (long live Salman).

After the court sentenced the actor, the fans protested the verdict.

Salman and the seven others were accused of killing a couple of blackbucks in two separate incidents - one at Bhawad on the outskirts of Jodhpur Sep 26, 1998 and another at Ghoda Farms Sep 28, 1998.

They were then shooting for the film "Hum Sath Sath Hain".

The poaching incident evoked protests, particularly by Rajasthan's Bishnoi community that acts as the natural guardian of the animal.

In western Rajasthan, the Bishnois have for several centuries been the biggest protector of blackbucks, and the community worships the hoofed animal.

The hearing in the second blackbuck poaching case is slated for Feb 27.

The movies Salman is currently working in include Rumi Jaffrey's "God Tussi Great Ho", "Janeman" and "Marigold".

Despite not being media savvy, Salman enjoys a fan following of millions that some say is larger than that of the other two Khans of Bollywood - Shah Rukh and Aamir.

-Indo-Asian News Service