Bollywood actor Salman Khan appeared before the Jodhpur chief judicial court on Thursday and recorded his statement in the 1998 Arms Act case. His lawyers later said that the actor told the court that he has been falsely implicated in the case, according to a report in ANI.
During the course of hearing on Thursday, Salman replied general questions the court posed in regard to his name, his father’s name, age, residential address and caste. In answer to the question on caste, Salman told the court that he writes ‘Indian’. However, on being asked about the allegations levelled by the prosecution, Salman pleaded “not guilty”.
He said to the court: “Main nirdosh hoon. Mujhe jhootha fansaya gaya hai (I am not guilty and I have been falsely implicated).” Salman’s sister Alvira and his bodyguard Shera were also present during the court proceedings. He stayed in the court for less than half an hour.
Reports said the actor left Mumbai for Jodhpur early in the morning for the crucial court appearance in the case which is an offshoot of the black buck poaching case. Khan and his co-stars have been accused of hunting three chinkaras and a blackbuck while shooting for the film Hum Saath Saath Hain near Jodhpur in 1998.
The forest department had filed a separate case under the Arms Act, accusing Khan of not renewing the licences of a revolver and a rifle he possessed at that time. The CJM court had ordered the actor on March 3 to record his statement.
The actor had earlier sought permission to resummon five witnesses in the case, stating that he was innocent in the matter. The process of re-examining the five prosecution witnesses was recently completed in the CJM court.
Khan’s statement as an accused would be recorded for possible conclusion of the trial. Earlier this year, Khan was acquitted by the Bombay high court in the 2002 hit-and-run case . HC quashed a trial court verdict that held him guilty of driving his Toyota Land Cruiser over people sleeping on a Bandra footpath.