City Reports

Black Buck case: Prosecution witnesses identify Salman Khan as poacher

Prosecution reads out statement of witnesses.

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February 1, 2018, 1:22 pm

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salman khan jodhpur court

Jaipur: The prosecution has released case statements of two witnesses in the high-profile Black Buck poaching incident which involves Bollywood superstar Salman Khan along with many others.

Statements of witnesses Shera Ram and Mangi Lal were read out in a Jodhpur court on Monday. The two witnesses in their statement said that they heard gunshots in Kankani and upon reaching the site, they saw actor Salman Khan speeding away in his Maruti Gypsy had a gun in his hand.

The statement mentions that the two witnesses heard the sound of a gunshot when hunting was being carried out in Kankani and rushed to the place. Upon reaching the site they saw that Poonamchand and Chogaram were already present there. They also saw Khan and seven others flee in their Gypsy. Due to the shortage of time, the next hearing was postponed to Tuesday.

Prior to these statements, the prosecution had read out the statements of Harish, Chogaram and Arun Yadav. Along with actor Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabbu and Sonali Bendre are also accused in this Black Buck poaching case which dates back to 1998. Salman Khan had pleaded innocence saying that he was ‘falsely implicated’, testifying in the presence of his other co-stars.

The incident dates back to September 1998, when during the shoot of film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’, Khan along with his co-stars, allegedly hunted down two blackbucks in the Kankani village of Rajasthan.

A trial court and the Rajasthan High court had also sentenced the actor however later acquitted him on grounds of no evidence.

Last year, the state government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision. In November the Supreme Court agreed to fast-track the plea filed by the state government, ruling to expedite hearing in the two cases of blackbuck and chinkara poaching against the actor.

First published: September 26, 2017