Salman Khan has reportedly pleaded not guilty in the Blackbuck case for which he appeared in court in Jodhpur today along with Tabu, Neelam, Saif Ali Khan and Sonali Bendre. The other actors too have denied the charges.
According to NDTV, Salman said: “I am innocent.” He was reportedly asked 65 questions by Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit and claimed that he was being framed by the forest department. He was in the court for close to one hour and left immediately after his statement was recorded.
"Khan has not committed any crime. After the film shooting, he used to remain in the hotel. He has been framed in the case and we would produce the evidence in favour of his innocence on the next date," said his counsel H M Saraswat.
The actors had been initially asked to appear on 25 January, but the actors sought a deferral on account of the security alert for Republic Day.
Salman Khan has been charged with killing two Blackbucks - an endangered species - while shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hain in 1998. The others had accompanied him on the hunting trip and allegedly incited him. The prosecution has produced 28 witnesses.
Given Salman’s streak of acquittal in several cases, would this be any different?
Also read: Ek Tha Poacher: A Handy Guide to Salman Khan’s Hunting Cases
(With inputs from PTI, NDTV, India Today)
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