Blackbuck poaching: Fresh charges against actors

Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan and three other actors will appear here before a court to hear the fresh charges in a 14-year-old case of blackbuck poaching during a film shooting in Rajasthan.Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam arrived in Jodhpur on Friday afternoon, Salman Khan is expected to reach on Saturday morning.

Finally after 14 years of poaching of two blackbucks the trial will commence in the lower court with the revised charges, all of them had last appeared in the same court on 19 June, 2006 but the consecutive revision petitions first by the defence and then by the state government had held up the trial.

Salman had not appeared before the court in February this year and his counsel said that the actor could not appear before the court due to his pre-scheduled shooting plans.

The court of chief judicial magistrate will read out the fresh charges to Khan and co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabbu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam in connection with the hunting of protected blackbuck at Kankani village in Jodhpur during shooting of film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

"Earlier the lower court on February 20, 2006 had framed Salman Khan under section 51 of Wildlife Protection Act, 27 of Arms Aact and 148 of IPC, whereas others including Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Dushyant Singh had been framed under sections 51 and 52 of Wildlife Protection Act, and section 147 and 149 of IPC", said Hastimal Saraswat, counsel for Salman Khan.

Saraswat said that the state government then filed a revision petition in the high court, which upheld the decision of the sessions court in Salman's case but added section 149 of IPC against others besides section 51/52 of Wildlife Protection Act, which the session court had dropped.