Salman out on bail after 2 jail nights

Jodhpur/Mumbai, April 7 

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After two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, convicted in  the 1998 blackbuck poaching case, was released on Saturday evening with District and Sessions Judge Ravindra K Joshi granting him bail. The jail authorities completed the formalities within 30 minutes of receiving the release order at 5.30 pm. Wearing a black sport T-shirt, a  cap and black sunglasses, Salman was driven straight to the airport where he boarded a chartered flight for Mumbai, along with his sisters Arpita and Alvira and two bodyguards. 

As news of Salman’s bail broke, thousands of fans  gathered outside the court and near the jail premises went into a frenzy, bursting crackers. Many had come from Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and various parts of Rajasthan.  In Mumbai, fans rushed to the Khans’ residence at Galaxy Apartments in suburban Bandra where they danced to the tunes of Salman’s film songs and burst crackers, halting traffic. Despite being transferred,  Judge Joshi heard the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, which lasted over two hours, from 10 am to 12 noon. The order was pronounced post-lunch and Salman freed on a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of Rs 25,000 each. The actor will have to re-appear on May 7 and seek court’s permission for going abroad, public prosecutor PR Bishnoi told The Tribune, adding that the final arguments on appeal of suspension of conviction would be dealt with on May 7.  

While the prosecution opposed Salman’s bail plea, telling the court there was enough evidence against him, defence lawyer Hastimal Saraswat argued the trial court had relied on just one eyewitness, whose claims were not reliable. He had prepared a 51-page petition with 51 grounds for bail. “Since Salman has been out on bail for 20 years and has never misused bail terms, he should be granted bail,” Saraswat, who was accompanied by Mahesh Bora, pleaded.

The actor was on Thursday sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, during the shooting of ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’ in Kankani village of Jodhpur district. His colleagues — Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam — and local resident Dushyant Singh (Gypsy driver) were acquitted.

Meanwhile, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has termed the court decision to grant bail as “unusual,” pointing out that “these days, wildlife crime matters were commonly fast-tracked, bail is often denied and offenders regularly receive a seven-year prison sentence”. — TNS