Salim Khan responds to adverse reactions to son Salman Khan's acquittal in the 1998 poaching case
Gaurav Dubey and Kasmin Fernandes (MID-DAY; July 26, 2016)

Soon after news of Salman Khan's acquittal in the 1998 chinkara and blackbuck poaching case trickled in yesterday (Read More), social media went into overdrive with netizens expressing a range of emotions — joy, relief, anger and sarcasm. Barring a few, most B-Town folk shied away from tweeting about the big story. Internet trolls, however, had a field day, coming up with memes and jokes on what led the Rajasthan High Court to give a clean chit to Salman.

Salman's father, Salim Khan wasn't in the least bit amused about the relentless trolling. He said, "We are relieved and happy. We always knew we would get justice. I would say that people who have been talking against this [ruling] need to respect the judgment. Even if it had gone against us, we would have accepted it."

The star's sister, Arpita Khan Sharma, tweeted: "Thank you God for always showering us with your grace and blessings. Today is a big day for us @BeingSalmanKhan. Thank U to all bhais and the families, well wishers for your prayers, support, love and best wishes. This wouldn't have been possible without you (sic)."

Salman later thanked fans in a one-line tweet, "Thank u for ur prayers and support (sic)."

Others to congratulate Salman on social media were Subhash Ghai and Ram Gopal Varma with the latter rubbing the judicial system's nose in the dirt. Singer Sona Mohapatra and celeb hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani, who had earlier slammed the Sultan actor over his 'rape' remark, condemned his acquittal. Sapna wrote, "Salman Khan is the biggest joke to come out of India" while Sona said, "Money, political Mileage & messiah of Mediocrity. 3M's help 'get away'. Not for long."

How black is the buck?

Excerpts from what Renuka Shahane, Salman's reel bhabhi in Hum Aapke Hain Koun, wrote on Facebook: "In 1998 a blackbuck & 2 Chinkaras (that are endangered species) were allegedly killed on a hunting trip that included Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Amrita Singh, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. Somehow... they wanted to shoot endangered animals. And they did and ate them too. But did they? Out of all, only Salman was charged for killing a blackbuck and a chinkara. He also served time for the same in Jodhpur jail. No charges were framed against the others. The case carried on and on and on as our cases do for two main reasons — 1) Having big bucks (sometimes even black bucks, different from the blackbuck who passed) or 2) Not having big bucks.

Salman of course falls in the 1st category. So, now, after 18 years he has been acquitted of charges in both cases. Some questions come to mind: 1) Who killed the Black Buck & the Chinkaras? 2) Did the driver kill them? 3) Did nobody kill them? 4) Do judges decide according to Buckworth-Lewis method? (What? Er...it's Duckworth-Lewis?) Sorry! 4) Who will pay for the mental torture that Salman has had to go through now that he has been declared not guilty? 5) Doesn't the nation want to know the truth? (preferably very loudly) What? The nation doesn't want to know? No? Why? Oh you don't say... busy spending bucks on Sultan...

Er, then let it pass....yeah the Buck, what else? Dear, deer! Surreal!!!"

BOMBAY TIMES (May 18, 2015)