The star cast of Sooraj Barjatya directed movie ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ arrived ‘Saath-Saath’ in the Jodhpur High Court bench today for the hearing of 1998’s blackbuck poaching case. The alleged actors including Bollywood ‘Sultan’ Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, actress Tabu and Neelam were accused of poaching blackbucks on October 1, 1998. They were present in Rajasthan for shooting the sequels of their Bollywood Hindi movie.
In the previous hearing held on January 9, Salmaan Khan was ordered to visit the court for the first hearing. The session was presided by Chief Judicial magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit who announced his ruling in Salman’s favour. The actor was allegedly accused of carrying and using illegal weapons for which, a case was registered against him under the Arms Act.
In the second hearing held on January 18, Salman Khan was acquitted of all charges (under Sections 3/25 and 3/27) pertaining to the Arms Act case. However, the court instructed Khan as well as other Bollywood actors to appear in court on January 27 for blackbuck poaching.
Today, when Salman arrived in the court, he was asked a series of 60 odd questions by Jodhpur Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit. The actor had to reply in ‘True’ or ‘False’ like–
- “You’ve been seen by the two people who testified that they saw you shoot the blackbuck. What do you’ve to say about it?”
- “Do you carry a licensed gun with you or not?”
- “Did you go into the jungles for hunting that night?”
Salman provided negative answers to most of the questions. According to Khan, the blackbuck died of ‘natural causes’, as presented by Dr Nepalia in his first forensic report. Khan said that he wasn’t responsible for killing the blackbuck.
Salman was accompanied by his lawyer Anand Desai and his family members. When asked about his religion, Khan replied that he’s an Indian above all. The court also recorded the statements of other actors including Saif Ali Khan. The case hasn’t reached the final outcome yet. The court will give its final ruling after the next hearing that is scheduled on February 15.
