Twitter reacts as Salman Khan convicted in blackbuck poaching case

A Jodhpur court today convicted Bollywood actor Salman Khan in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case and acquitted his colleagues Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, a prosecution lawyer said. Salman has been held guilty of killing two blackbucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur in October 1998 during the shooting of the film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’. A fifth person, local Dushyant Singh, has also been acquitted, said Mahipal Bishnoi, the prosecution counsel.

Final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court on March 28, after which Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved his judgment. Khatri, while pronouncing the verdict in the case that had been underway for nearly 20 years, called the actor a 'habitual offender', the Economic Times reported, adding that the others were given the benefit of the doubt.

All the actors were in a Gypsy car on the night of October 1, 1998, with Salman Khan in the driving seat. He spotted a herd of blackbucks and killed two of them, the lawyer said. Salman was facing charges under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act.

Arguments were in progress in the court regarding the quantum of punishment for Salman, which will be announced in the afternoon. If Salman gets a jail term of less than 3 years, he could be out on bail today itself.

Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha has protested against the acquittal of co-accuseds. Their acquittal will be challenged in the high court, said Shivraj Bishnoi, state president of the Sabha.

Dressed in a black shirt, Salman reached the court earlier in the morning with his bodyguard. The other actors, some of them accompanied by their family members, were also in the courtroom when the verdict was read out.

Twitter reacts to Salman Khan conviction

Immediately after the trail court found movie star guilty in the poaching case , social media users reacted with mixed comments over the judgement. While the actor enjoys a strong fan-following but there is not enough sympathy for ‘Bajrangi Bhaijan’. Questions are also being asked how come only Salman Khan was convicted and others allowed to go scot free.