Headlines
Salman pleads not guilty in arms
Salman
pleads not guilty in arms
Jaipur, April 29 Bollywood actor Salman Khan pleaded "not guilty" on Wednesday in
an arms case in a court in Rajasthan's Jodhpur city.
Salman was in Jodhpur to record his statement under Section 313 of the Criminal
Procedure Code in the chief judicial magistrate's (CJM) court in Jodhpur in the
17-year-old case.
CJM Anupama Bijlani on April 23 asked Salman's counsel to ensure his presence
in the court on April 29.
On Wednesday, the actor was present in the court along with his counsel and
answered the questions posed by the court.
Salman and a few other Bollywood stars were accused of poaching blackbucks on
the midnight of October 1-2, 1998, during the shooting of Hindi movie "Hum
Saath Saath Hain".
Two blackbucks, a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani
village near Jodhpur. Salman is accused of carrying and using illegal arms in
that incident. He is also alleged to have been carrying arms with expired
licence.
Salman's sister Alvira and his bodyguard Shera were present during Wednesday's
proceedings in an overcrowded courtroom. Salman said he has been falsely
implicated in this case by the officers of the forest department.
"I am innocent and I have done nothing wrong," Salman told the court.
The court asked him if he wanted to present any witness in his defence, to
which Salman nodded positively.
"The court has now posted the matter on May 4 for further hearing,"
Hastimal Saraswat, counsel for Salman, told IANS over phone.
The court heard both counsel over an application moved by the then forest
officer Lalit Bora, who is witness in the case in which Salman is accused of
misleading the court.
Salman's counsel H.M. Sarswat told the court that Salman was suffering from a
severe infection in his ear and was taking painkillers.
The court of the chief judicial magistrate had asked Salman to appear before it
for recording his statement on April 23, but he failed to come.