Salman Khan jailed in wildlife case
Bollywood star Salman Khan was arrested by police on Saturday and sent to jail after a court rejected his appeal against a five-year conviction for shooting an endangered species of gazelle.
Television channels showed pictures of the muscular actor surrounded by policemen as he left the airport in Jodhpur after arriving from Mumbai, as TV crews and fans jostled to get a glimpse of him. Police struggled to keep order.
“He has been arrested at the airport lounge and the arrest warrant was presented to him there itself,” According to a police official .
Dozens of fans on motorcycles followed him in a police vehicle on the way to court, where he was ordered to be jailed, police officials said.
The actor said earlier on Saturday he would surrender in Jodhpur after the rejection of the appeal against his 2006 conviction for killing several endangered species of antelope during hunting trips to the western state of Rajasthan in 1998.
The animals are protected under Indian wildlife law.
Khan was alleged to have slit the throat of the chinkara — a type of gazelle that he shot before giving it to chefs at his deluxe hotel to cook.
On Friday, a Jodhpur court rejected his appeal against the conviction, leaving him with the option of surrendering or being arrested.
The court had also issued an arrest warrant against him.
Earlier on Saturday, Khan, wearing a tight-fitting white T-shirt and cargo pants with sunglasses, said in Mumbai he planned to surrender in Jodhpur “as a responsible citizen and somebody who abides by the law and respects the judiciary”.
He was accompanied by his lawyer and family members, including his actor-brother Sohail Khan.
Television footage showed a worried-looking Khan talking to a tense Sohail and lawyers during the flight to Jodhpur.
Known for his bad-boy image and romantic liaisons with several Bollywood leading ladies, Khan has several other cases hanging over him.
He was convicted in 2006 for killing protected blackbuck antelopes during Rajasthan hunting trips, and given a one-year jail sentence.
He was granted bail and has appealed against that conviction, but has also been charged with other counts of killing wildlife and of breaking gun laws.
Khan is also facing trial over the death of a man sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai in 2002. Khan is suspected of drunk driving and has been charged over the man’s death. The actor has denied being at the wheel.
Khan is currently filming three movies costing about 1 billion rupees
As the actor was taken to court, his fans were distraught.