Just days after being acquitted in the Arms Act case Bollywood actor Salman Khan is all set appear before the Jodhpur Court in Rajasthan on January 25 in connection with the blackbuck poaching case. Apart from his Hum Saath Saath hain co-stars, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and one of the locals Dushyant Singh have been directed to appear before the court.
The prosecution have also submitted the recording of the witnesses statements in the court. Today, Salman Khan is expected to record his statement in the longstanding 1998 blackbuck case. Last week, in what was a major relief to Bollywood actor Salman Khan a Jodhpur court announced its verdict in the Arms Act on illegal possession of arms and ammunition and acquitted him after over 19 years of fighting the legal battle. The prosecution had claimed that the actor had possessed unlicensed guns for blackbuck shooting. Khan has already served time in the Jodhpur jail twice – in April 2006 and August 2007.
Salman was let off by the court in the arms act case because of lack of evidence. Out of the four cases filed against him, the Rajasthan High Court has acquitted him in two cases of poaching of chinkara. His trial in the third case of alleged poaching of two blackbucks is currently in court.
It all unfolded during the shooting of the Bollywood movie, ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ when the lead actors went on a hunt where they allegedly killed two blackbucks in Kankani village. Following heated protests by the locals, mainly the Bishnoi community, the police registered a complaint against Salman Khan and the others along with Dushyant Singh who reportedly accompanied them for the shooting expedition.
