MID-DAY (April 30, 2015)

Salman Khan pleaded innocence before a Jodhpur sessions court yesterday in connection with a case related to the violation of the Arms Act. The case is an offshoot of the 1998 blackbuck poaching controversy. The star has been charged with the alleged poaching of two black bucks during the shoot of his film Hum Saath Saath Hain ( 1999) in Rajasthan.

Before recording his statement, he was asked his father’s name, profession and other details required in the court’s form. The actor answered everything, but appeared puzzled when asked about his caste. He paused, looked at his counsel and bodyguard as someone from the crowd prompted ‘Muslim’. But he told the court: “Muslim and Hindu.” Salman said that his father, writer Salim Khan, is a Muslim while his mother Salma (whose maiden name is Susheela Charak) is a Hindu.

Salman was accompanied by his sister Alvira Agnihotri to the court.