Bengaluru: Two decades have passed but the ghost of the black buck poaching case continues to haunt Bollywood heartthrob Salman Khan, who is facing charges of poaching them in 1998 at forests near Jodhpur in Rajasthan.
What has grabbed attention and maybe shocked his fans is the fact that his photo and details of the case against Salman are prominently displayed on the government website of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), along with those of 153 other poachers, including four women and 41 Myamnar nationals!
In April 2018, the Jodhpur court sentenced Salman to five years simple imprisonment, while acquitting other Bolly-wood stars and co-accused in the case, including Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. Salman Khan went in appeal against the conviction and is out on bail for the last two years.
Though the issue hits the limelight only when the case comes up for hearing, Khan has earned the distinction of remaining on the WCCB website after he was convicted by the Jodhpur court. The website, which also has details of the other convictions, has many interesting statistics for any wildlife lover. For instance, the highest number of cases detected and convictions goes to Assam. Of the 41 cases of conviction, 24 happened in 2014 and 17 in 2013 and all the accused are from neighbouring Myanmar
