Blackbuck Poaching Case: Salman Khan returns home after spending two nights in Jodhpur Central Jail

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan arrived at his house in Mumbai on Saturday evening amid bursting of crackers and wild celebrations by fans, hours after getting bail in the 1998 black buck poaching case from a Jodhpur court.

The actor, who was on Thursday sentenced to five years in jail for blackbuck poaching, was released from Jodhpur Central Jail after spending two nights in the prison. 

He was granted bail by a Jodhpur sessions court earlier in the day. District and Sessions Judge Ravindra Kumar Joshi also allowed 52-year-old actor's application for suspension of sentence for a month.

The actor was sent to prison for shooting and killing blackbucks in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the night of October 1, 1998, during the shooting of the film "Hum Saath Saath Hain". 

Khan walked out of the jail after the prison authorities received the court papers granting him bail. Immediately after his release, Khan was driven under police escort to the airport from where he took a flight to Mumbai. 

According to sources, the actor took a private jet from Jodhpur that departed around 5.50 pm and landed in Mumbai about 7.10 pm. He was accompanied by his long-time bodyguard Shera, sisters - Alvira and Arpita - and his lawyers.  After landing at Santa Cruz airport in Mumbai, Khan was taken to his first-floor flat at Bandra's Galaxy Apartments where he reached at around 8 pm. 

The moment he reached home, the jubilant fans who had gathered outside his residence started bursting fire crackers amid screams of "welcome bhai".

Wearing a black T-shirt, a pair of jeans and a cap, Salman was seen siting on the front seat of his car. On his way home from the Mumbai airport, he was accompanied by Shera.

He later came to the balcony of his apartment and waved at the fans.

Salman's brother-in-law Aayush Sharma, actors Sonakshi Sinha, Saif Ali Khan, Amrita Arora and Sneha Ullal, among others, visited his residence during the day.

Khan, who was lodged in the Jodhpur jail after his sentencing on Thursday, was granted bail on a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of like amount, defence counsel Mahesh Bora said.

The judge asked the actor to appear before the court after a month on May 7 when it will hear his plea for suspension of sentence. He also directed Khan not to leave the country without the court's permission.

Meanwhile, the Bishnoi community, which reveres the blackbuck, has decided to move the Rajasthan High Court challenging the bail granted to Khan, according to Ram Niwas, the secretary of the Bishnoi Tiger Force.

In its 10-page bail order, the court said the trial judge acquitted his Bollywood colleagues Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre and a local, Dushyant Singh, giving them the "benefit of doubt" for the incident.

It also cited the differences in the post-mortem reports of the blackbucks with the first saying there was no gunshot injury while second stating that the animals were killed by gunshots.

Judge Joshi said during the trial, Khan had never misused any condition.

He also said he was earlier granted bail in the Mathania Ghoda Farm case in which he was given a five-years jail term for killing a blackbuck. Later, the high court had acquitted him.

Similarly, he was acquitted by the trial court last year in the Bhawad poaching case in which he was accused of killing two chinkara gazelles, the court said.

It said the high court had also raised suspicion over the recovery of a Gypsy car, pellets and arms from the actor in the two other poaching cases against him.

The judge also said the complaint of lone eyewitness Poonam Chand on October 2, 1998, was submitted to the court by the forest department six days later on October 8.

Earlier in the day, the judge heard the arguments of the prosecution and the defence which lasted about an hour and pronounced the order around 3 pm, a defence counsel said.

Khan's sisters - Alvira and Arpita - were present during the hearing, besides Shera.

The actor was convicted by a trial court and sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks during the shooting of "Hum Saath Saath Hain" in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the night of October 1, 1998.

In a late night development, an order was issued to transfer Joshi to Sirohi, as part of a reshuffle. He was among 134 judges transferred by the high court registrar general.

The judge had yesterday reserved his decision on Khan's bail plea till today after hearing arguments on the suspension of sentence and the bail application. While defence counsel Bora had argued for Khan's bail in the court yesterday, public prosecutor Pokar Ram Bishnoi had opposed the plea.

This was Khan's fourth stint in the Jodhpur jail, which also houses religious preacher Asaram Bapu, who has been accused of rape. He has spent a total of 20 days in the prison in 1998, 2006, 2007 and now, all for cases of poaching.

(With PTI inputs)