Top notched Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was sentenced to five years prison on Thursday by an Indian court for killing rare Antelopes, settling in 1998.
Salman Khan, 52, regarded as the bad boy of Indian movie industry, was taken into police custody and driven to jail after the sentencing in the midst of chaotic scenes outside court.
But Khan, who denied poaching the rare antelopes known as black bucks for over two decades now, can still appeal his conviction for a crime that has gripped celebrity-obsessed India for years.
“The court has given a five-year jail term and fined Salman Khan 10,000 rupees ($150),” prosecution lawyer Mahipal Bishnoi revealed to reporters outside the court in the Rajasthan city of Jodhpur.
Hundreds of police were deployed outside the courtroom to caution the graving fans who massed to support the body- building actor best known for his macho roles.
Khan, one of the Indian movie industry’s most bankable stars, wore black sunglasses and a figure-hugging black shirt as he walked briskly from a white SUV to the courthouse flanked by security.
Four other Bollywood stars — Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari — were also accused of joining the hunting trip but were acquitted for lack of evidence.
Salman Khan, whose legion of fans emulate his distinct hairstyle and fashion, has accused Rajasthan’s forest department of framing him over the rare antelopes case.
His defence lawyers had suggested the black bucks died of natural causes such as overeating, and claimed there was no evidence they had been shot.
