Salman Khan to spend night in jail following conviction

Salman has been found guilty and is sentenced to five years in prison with INR10,000 fine

JODHPUR: A Jodhpur court on Thursday pronounced its verdict in the 1998 black buck poaching case, in which Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam are accused.

Salman has been found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison with INR10,000 fine while Saif, Sonali, Tabu and Neelum have been acquitted under section 9/51 of the Indian Wildlife Act, reported CNN. The council is arguing for an early probation.

The actor will spend the night in Jodhpur central jail and his bail hearing will be held tomorrow morning at 10.00am.

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The trial of the case was in progress since the last 19 years and the judge in a court here had reserved the order after the final arguments on March 28. Arguments were in progress in the court regarding the quantum of punishment for Salman.

The accused landed in Jodhpur on Wednesday ahead of the court hearing.

The movie stars were accused of poaching black bucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on October 1-2, 1998, during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain movie.

They were accused of killing two black bucks, hunting of which is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.

The final arguments in the case were completed in a Jodhpur rural court on March 28. Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved the judgment for April 5 thereafter.

Meanwhile, a video clipping of Saif getting annoyed over media questions and threatening his driver by saying 'Sheehsa upar karo aur reverse kar lo varna padegi ek (close windowpane, put car in reverse or else you will get slapped) has since gone viral on social media.

It was learnt that a fan also misbehaved with Tabu while she was coming out of the airport at Jodhpur on Wednesday morning.

The actor is currently busy shooting for Race 3.

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