Salman Khan convicted in 1998 poaching case

Reuters Staff

 

FILE PHOTO: Bollywood actor Salman Khan sits in a car as he leaves a court in Mumbai, India, May 6, 2015. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/Files

 

A court in Rajasthan on Thursday convicted Bollywood star Salman Khan in a 19-year-old poaching case, a lawyer for the prosecution said.

 

Khan and fellow actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam Kothari and Sonali Bendre were charged in the killing of endangered blackbuck antelopes in 1998 while shooting for the film “Hum Saath-Saath Hain” in Rajasthan. All other accused have been acquitted.

 

“The court has pronounced Salman Khan guilty. Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre have been given the benefit of the doubt and let off. Arguments for the quantum of sentence are on,” the lawyer told reporters outside court.

 

The conviction could lead to a prison sentence of up to six years, TV channels said.

 

Khan is arguably India’s biggest star, and most of his films figure in Bollywood’s top box office earners. His last release in December, “Tiger Zinda Hai”, grossed more than 3 billion rupees ($52 million). His next film is an action thriller and scheduled to release during the Eid holiday weekend in August.

 

This is not Khan’s first brush with the law. In 2015, the Bombay High Court overturned his conviction in a hit-and-run case in which he was accused of running over a homeless man. Last year, another court in Jodhpur acquitted Khan in a separate poaching case, ruling that there was no proof that he killed an endangered gazelle.

 

The other accused are also big-ticket Bollywood stars. Saif Ali Khan is one of Bollywood’s leading men and is also part of Netflix’s first Indian series, “Sacred Games”. Tabu has been a part of several Bollywood and Hollywood films such as “Life of Pi” and “The Namesake”.

 

(Reporting by Shilpa Jamkhandikar)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-05

I take it that the lawyers for Premchai Karnasuta have noted this ruling and are seeking to have his trial transferred to Bombay where he can get an unbiased trial.

He escaped the previous drunk driving and manslaughter charge by claiming that it was his driver on the wheel. Probably bought off everyone. But this one's caught up with him. Karma :)