Blackbuck poaching case: Salman Khan granted bail by Jodhpur court

NEW DELHI: Actor Salman Khan was on Saturday granted bail by a Jodhpur court in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case in which he has been sentenced to five years in jail.

The actor was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of Rs 25,000 each. He is likely to be released this evening once the papers are ready and sent to jail authorities.

"He will have to submit two bonds of Rs 25 thousand each, he cannot leave the nation without the court's permission and will have to appear here again in person on May 7," said Mahipal Bishnoi, lawyer of Bishnoi community.

The Bishnoi community, which had registered the complaint against Salman, said it will approach the Rajasthan high court against the verdict.

The actor was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of a movie in 1998.

The Bollywood star has been lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail since Thursday. Khan’s lawyer HM Saraswat had filed a bail application in the court immediately after the sentencing, and on the same premises. Saraswat said an appeal against the conviction too will be filed soon after going through the verdict.

In the judgment convicting the actor, the court said he's a role model for millions and should have been more careful.

"The accused is a popular actor whose deeds are followed by people. Despite this, the accused hunted two blackbucks," said chief judicial magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri in his written judgment.

The verdict in the case came 20 years after the actor's infamous blackbuck hunt made national headlines.

Salman's co-stars Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre, who allegedly accompanied him on the hunt on the night of October 1-2, 1998, were given the benefit of doubt and acquitted. All of them were camping in Jodhpur at that time for the shooting of the movie.