Superstar Salman Khan gets 5-year jail term; Saif, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre get ‘benefit of doubt’
MUMBAI MIRROR (April 6, 2018)

The math comes to precisely 5. That’s how many years megastar Salman Khan will have to spend in jail, as per the order of a Jodhpur court. Salman was on Thursday convicted for poaching two black bucks — an endangered species — in October 1998, sentenced to five years of imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000.

The offence, under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, attracts a maximum punishment of six years in jail.

Dressed in a pair of jeans and a navy blue shirt, Salman had arrived in Jodhpur from Mumbai in a chartered plane and had planned his return for the afternoon in the hopes of an acquittal.

After the judgment was pronounced, the 52-year-old actor was immediately whisked away to Jodhpur Central Jail, where he had spent 18 days in total in 1998, 2006 and 2007 — all for cases of poaching. His lawyers said he would have to spend the night in jail as his bail request could be heard only on Friday. As he has been sentenced to more than three years of imprisonment, he would have to appeal in a higher court for bail.

The court acquitted the co-accused in the case — actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, and a local, Dushyant Singh — owing to lack of evidence and gave them the “benefit of doubt”.

Salman killed the black bucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on October 1, 1998, during the shoot of film Hum Saath Saath Hain. Black bucks are endangered animals and are included in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The prosecution’s argument of the star being a habitual offender is said to have weighed heavily against him.
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Death threat from notorious gangster

A life threat to Salman has left the Jodhpur Central Jail’s staff on the edge. Dreaded criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, who is facing trial in over 20 cases of attempt to murder, carjacking, extortion and snatching, and Arms Act, had in January threatened to kill the actor.

“Salman Khan will be killed here, in Jodhpur. Then he will come to know about our (the Bishnoi community that had filed the poaching case against the actor) real identity,” Lawrence told reporters then.

Although Lawrence is lodged in a jail in Ajmer, a number of his accomplices are in the Jodhpur prison, prompting the staff to keep a tight vigil on Salman. — Prakash Bhandari in Jodhpur
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Rs 400 cr riding on Salman

Salman Khan was in Abu Dhabi shooting for Race 3 when he rushed to Mumbai on Wednesday. He boarded a chartered plane to reach Jodhpur.

Bollywood analysts say around Rs 400 crore could be riding on Salman, who has seen phenomenal box office success since the release of Dabangg (2010). Sources said his legal troubles will not really affect Race 3, as some patchwork and dubbing are all that’s left. The movie is slated for an Eid release.

Salman is scheduled to start the shoot of Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bharat in June. The big budget entertainer is scheduled to be shot in Spain, Poland, Portugal, Malta, Abu Dhabi, besides Punjab and Delhi. Around the same time, Salman is also scheduled to start shooting for the third instalment of home production Dabangg with Sonakshi Sinha. The film will be helmed by Prabhu Deva. There’s also the second instalment of Kick, to be directed by Salman’s closest friend, Sajid Nadiadwala.

The superstar is also bringing back his reality show Dus Ka Dum on television — the Indian version of the American game show Power of 10 — after nine years. —Natasha Coutinho