Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan reaches Jodhpur court for case hearing

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Salman Khan has reached Jodhpur to appear for the trial at the High Court today on account of the Blackbuck poaching case. The `Jai Ho` actor has been accused of possessing arms with an expired license during the alleged Blackbuck poaching at Kankani village in 1998. This may be Salman`s chance to mount a defense against the prosecution. In December 2013, Salman Khan`s counsel had stated there were no direct evidences against the actor that he carried arms with expired license during the alleged Blackbuck poaching at the nearby Kankani village in 1998. Salman`s counsel Hastimal Saraswat had claimed at the ACJM (Jodhpur District) court that the case against the actor is nothing but a sheaf of untruth, which has miserably failed to count some very important facts. Besides Salman, actors Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam were accused of poaching two Blackbucks in the intervening night of October 1 and 2, 1998 in Kankani village near Jodhpur during the shooting of the film `Hum Saath Saath Hain`. It may be recalled that the High Court had revised the charges against the actors in December 2012. In the fresh charges, Salman was charged with Section 9/51 of the Wildlife Protection Act and others including a local accused Dushyant Singh with sections 9/51, 9//52 of the same Act and section 149 of IPC. Blackbuck is a protected animal and hunting or poaching of the same is a punishable offence under law. With Agency Inputs