Salman Khan to be jailed for poaching

JODHPUR: Bollywood star Salman Khan faces an arrest warrant with a court here rejecting an appeal against his conviction in a chinkara poaching case and upholding the five-year jail term awarded to him by a lower court.

Fortyone-year-old Khan was not present in the packed courtroom when the verdict was pronounced by District and Sessions Judge Kamal Raj Singhvi.

Khan was convicted on April 10 last year for poaching of two blackbucks at Ujiyala Bhakhar near Ghoda Farm on September 28, 1998 during the shooting of Sooraj Barjatiya's film "Hum Saath Saath Hain".

He was sentenced to five years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped with a fine of Rs 25,000.

Dismissing Khan's appeal against the lower court order, Singhvi upheld the jail sentence awarded to the actor. The defence raised an objection that the court cannot pronounce the verdict if the accused is not present, but the judge cited provisions of CrPC under which it is allowed.

Khan has also been sentenced to one-year imprisonment in another poaching case of Bhawad and has filed an appeal against it. But the hearing has not started as the record is pending with the Rajasthan High Court where the state government filed a plea for enhancement of the sentence.