Salman Khan's stars are perennially in doldrums. After returning from an unsuccessful 'Rockstars' world tour where the last show in Wembley got cancelled at the last minute, Khan was made to feel the heat in Jodhpur yesterday. The eight year old Black Buck case came up for hearing yesterday and the Sessions Court Judge reframed charges against Salman Khan, Tabu, Neelam, Sonali Bendre and Saif Ali Khan under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLPA). All the stars were present in the court.
Judicial magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit booked Salman for illegal hunting under section 51 and others under section 52 (abetment) in the black bucks poaching case. According to Mahipal Bishnoi, a high court lawyer, if proved guilty, they could get upto six years in jail. The charges were reframed after Salman's lawyer Hasti Mal Saraswat moved the sessions court against earlier charges framed by a lower court saying the 'charges had been duplicated'.
It seems Salman Khan's worries are not going to lessen as a television news channel recently broke a story in the infamous American Bakery Car Accident case where a labourer lost his life under Khan's car due to negligent driving. The court had earlier stated in that case that since the four witnesses (The labourers who survived) were unavailable and that the police were unable to find them, their statements can not be considered. But the same labourers stated on Television that the police never made any attempts to search for them as they were always there. This disclosure will surely go against Salman Khan when the case comes up for hearing as the intense media scrutiny will make it impossible for the police or the judicial system to be lenient with the mega star.