Salman Khan bail may get delayed, judge hearing his plea transferred

Jodhpur: There is unlikely to be any respite for Bollywood superstar Salman Khan who is in Jodhpur central jail following his conviction and sentencing in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The District and Sessions Judge, who was scheduled to hear Salman's bail plea in the case has been transferred by the Rajasthan High Court.

The Rajasthan High Court transferred Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi along with other 86 district judges late on Friday night. Joshi was scheduled to take the decision on the bail plea, filed by the actor in Jodhpur Sessions Court on Saturday.

Salman was convicted on Thursday in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case and sentenced to a five-year jail term by a Jodhpur court. However, the other actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari accused in the case were acquitted.

The 'Dabangg' actor was accused of killing two blackbucks on October 2, 1998, in Kankani village in Jodhpur during the shooting of the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. 

The  52-year-old actor has spent two days at the Jodhpur Central Jail and is awaiting a response to his bail plea. His bail application is expected to be heard around 10.30 by the sessions court today.

This is his fourth stint in the Jodhpur Central Jail. He has earlier spent a total of 18 days in the jail in 1998, 2006 and 2007, all for cases of poaching.

(With inputs from ANI)