By Zoubida Senoussi
Rabat – One of the world’s highest paid celebrities is now paying for his crime.
Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan is facing some real time in jail. According to the BBC, the Indian actor was sentenced on Thursday to five years in prison and INR 10,000 (MAD 1,418) by a court in Rajasthan for poaching rare antelopes from his car window back in 1998, while filming in Jodhpur.
This complaint has been filed by the local Bishnoi, “a community who reveres and worship the blackbuck,” adds the same source. The 52-year-old actor’s lawyers will appeal the decision. An urgent bail hearing was scheduled for Friday.
“We are studying the judgment–it just came as a surprise, as the entire investigation, and facts of this case were the same as those for which Salman was acquitted by the High Court of Rajasthan in two [other] cases,” one of his lawyers said to the source.
On social media, the “Saajan” actor has been receiving a lot of support from his fans. The hashtag #WeLoveYouSalmanKhan is actually trending on Twitter, where he has more than 32 million followers and another 15.3 million on Instagram.
Khan has a long and troubled relationship with the law. In 2015, Bollywood’s sweetheart was found guilty in a deadly hit-and-run accident and received a five-year prison sentence. The case was later dropped by a higher court for “a lack of evidence.”
Difficulties with the justice system aside, Salman Khan has been busy pursuing his acting career. Last year, the heartthrob was filming the movie “Tiger Zinda Hai” in Morocco, an event that attracted Moroccan fans of the star in Essaouira, where part of the shooting took place.
