Bollywood star gets five years' jail for killing rare antelope

Salman Khan has been jailed and must pay a fine after being convicted of killing an endangered species of antelope two decades ago.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail. Source: YouTube

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has been jailed for five years for killing rare antelope on a hunting trip in 1998.

The 52-year-old was also fined 10,000 rupees in a court in India on Thursday, prosecution lawyer Mahipal Bishnoi said.

Mr Bishnoi said an arrest warrant was being prepared for the actor, who would be sent to Jodhpur central jail. Khan, who pleaded not guilty, can still appeal.
The Indian movie star killed the two blackbucks, a protected species, in the western state of Rajasthan while shooting a film.

Four other actors who starred with him in the movie - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari - were also charged with the offence, but have been acquitted for lack of evidence.

Khan can appeal against the verdict in a higher court.

Hundreds of police were deployed outside the courtroom to keep back fans who turned out to support the body-building actor best known for his macho roles.
Salman Khan.
Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail. Source: AAP Image/EPA/DIVYAKANT SOLANKI
Khan, wearing black sunglasses and a figure-hugging black shirt, walked briskly from a white SUV to the courthouse, flanked by security.

Khan, whose legion of fans emulate his distinct hairstyle and fashion,  accused the state's forest department of framing him over the blackbuck case.

His defence lawyers had suggested the blackbuck died of natural causes such as overeating, and claimed there was no evidence they had been shot.

He has been dogged by multiple charges since undertaking the infamous hunting safari in protected forest land while shooting a film in Rajasthan.

The Bishnois, a Rajasthani tribe seen as custodians of the region's wildlife, filed a complaint against the actors.

Khan was found guilty of killing gazelles on the hunting trip and served a very brief stint in jail, but was freed on appeal in 2016.

Last year he was also cleared by a court over the alleged use of unlicenced firearms on the expedition. A higher court is challenging his aquittal.

Controversy has followed the Bollywood bad boy since he burst onto the silver screen in the 1980s.

He was cleared in 2015 of killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run accident. That decision is now being challenged in the Supreme Court.

He was also accused of assaulting a former Miss World and provoked a firestorm in 2016 by saying his workout schedule for a film left him feeling "like a raped woman".

But the off-screen drama has done little to dampen his appeal.

The actor known as "bhai", meaning "brother" in Hindi, enjoys a cult-like status with the majority of his devotees young men who envy Khan for being unmarried at 52.

He remains one of Bollywood's biggest draws, starring in more than 100 films and television shows.

According to Forbes, he made $37 million in yearly earnings to finish second behind Shah Rukh Khan in the 2017 Bollywood rankings.

 


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Source: AFP, SBS



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