The curtain has come down on one of the longest cases in India. The offense was committed by Salman Khan and four other actors in 1998 and after a trial lasting 19 years, Salman is the lone star to be convicted. He has been sentenced to two years in jail. His other accomplices Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan and Tabu have been acquitted. Salman has been accused of killing two blackbucks in the remote Rajasthan countryside in 1998 when he and others had gone for a film shoot. The trial dragged on for 19 years and finally, the law has caught up with the actor.
Geo TV has reported that as the punishment is less than three years Salman can apply for bail to the Sessions court straightaway till his appeal is heard in the higher court.
Salman Khan
Salman is the bad boy of Bollywood and has also just escaped a rap when the Mumbai High court acquitted him in a hit and run case when he overran people sleeping on the footpath in his SUV. The Maharashtra government has gone in appeal against the high court verdict acquiting Salman in the Supreme Court. Salman is alleged to have been intoxicated when he drove his SUV on to the footpath. The SC has accepted the appeal and Salman cannot rest easy till the appeal is disposed of.
Salman was arrested in 1998 when local villagers complained that he had shot two black bucks which are an endangered species and come under the wildlife protection act.With depleting wildlife in the country the government has passed this strict legislation to curb hunting and poaching of endangered species in India.
The prosecutor has opposed the acquittal of the costars of Salman and has said the government will appeal against the acquittal by the court. After the verdict was announced all the co-stars of Salman just vanished leaving the Mumbai star alone in Jodhpur to face the music. Salman will now apply for bail and his lawyer has said that they will appeal against the court verdict.
Wildlife act
The Wildlife Act is a tough piece of legislation in India. Under the same act, the former India cricket captain Nawab of Pataudi was arrested for killing a buck in Haryana. He expired shortly and the trial did not proceed further. The law in India has generally applied in a uniform manner and one is aware that another top star Sanjay Dutt was sentenced to 5 years prison term for having an unlicensed automatic rifle. He has finished his jail term and is back to films. With this precedent, Salman cannot rest easy till the cases are disposed of by the Supreme Court.
