• Source:JND
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The 1998 blackbuck poaching case is once again in headlines. The case involves Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre. On April 5, 2018, the trial court convicted actor Salman Khan and sentenced him to five years in jail, but Saif, Sonali, Tabu and Neelam were acquitted. Now, the Rajasthan government has approached the High Court and challenged their acquittal. 

According to government counsel Advocate Mahipal Vishnoi, the poaching happened during the shooting of Hum Saath-Saath Hain on October 1, 1998, in Kankani village near Jodhpur. While Salman Khan was sentenced to five-years of jail, no evidence was found against co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre and Dushyant Singh. It is pertinent to note that Salman Khan was granted conditional bail on April 7, 2018, after depositing Rs 50,000. The actor remains out on bail, while the case is still pending in the High Court. 

Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in prison by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court on April 10, 2006. However, he appealed the decision to the High Court, which later acquitted him on July 25, 2016.

The Rajasthan government challenged this in the Supreme Court. Salman Khan's 2006 sentencing was challenged by the state government in the Supreme Court, where the case is still pending. In another case, Salman was sentenced to 1 year in jail on February 17, 2006, but was later acquitted by the High Court.

The state government appealed the acquittal in the Supreme Court and the hearing is still pending. Salman was also accused in the Arms Act Case, but was acquitted on January 18, 2017, for illegal possession of arms.