In the 19-year-old poaching case against actors Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu, a Jodhpur court will announce the verdict on Wednesday.
All the 5 actors along with Dushyant Singh (a local travel agent) and Dinesh Gawre (said to be Salman’s assistant at that time), were accused of poaching the endangered animal at the Jodhpurs Konkani village on October 1-2, 1998 in the night.
Gawre is absconding and his police investigation is still pending while the remaining six accused have undergone trial and will remain in the courtroom when the verdict is finally announced.
It was during the shoot of Bollywood film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ that this incident occurred. The court of chief judicial magistrate (Jodhpur rural) Dev Kumar Khatri is to pronounce judgment in the poaching case that was registered during the shooting
This one is the last of the 3 poaching cases and an Arms Act case against Salman from the infamous poaching incidents of 1998 to be decided by the trial court here.
Salman has been acquitted in the Arms Act case. He was also convicted in 2 poaching cases but he was acquitted by the Rajasthan high court in both the cases. Although he has been acquitted the prosecution has filed an appeal in the higher court. The appeal and the cases are pending in different courts at present.
Jail superintendent Vikram Singh said “We have earmarked the barracks and checked all the arrangements for them if they are to be lodged in jail after the verdict,”
While referring to life threats to Salman and presence of Lawrence Bishnoi’s men in Jodhpur jail, Singh said that all actors would be safe in the jail.
The city police have been keeping extra precaution and not willing to take any chances.In view of the impending threat by gangster Bishnoi.
It was during one of his appearances in a court case here, Bishnoi had threatened to kill Salman in Jodhpur itself.
Bishnoi is a gangster and is allegedly involved in a series of gang-wars and murders in Rajasthan cities, including Jodhpur, where his henchmen triggered a series of shooting incidents and a murder earlier.
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