A Jodhpur court on Thursday sentenced Bollywood Tiger Salman Khan to 5 year prison term in the 1998 blackbuck killing case. His ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ co-stars, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam, who were co-accused, were earlier, acquitted in the same case. A fifth person, Dushyant Singh, a local businessman, has also been acquitted. Bajrangi Bhaijaan actor has also been fined a penalty for Rs 10,000. He is being taken to Jodhpur Central Jail, where he will be spending the night.
Salman Khan was accused of killing two blackbucks in Bhagoda ki Dhani in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the intervening night of 1-2 October 1998, during the shoot of his movie Hum Saath Saath Hain. He has been convicted under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which carries maximum punishment of six years and minimum 1 year jail term.
Dressed in a black shirt, Salman Khan reached the court earlier in the morning with his bodyguard. Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri, while pronouncing the verdict in the case, called the actor a ‘habitual offender’.