Indian actor Salman Khan acquitted in 18-year-old poaching case

The Rajasthan High Court on Monday acquitted Bollywood actor Salman Khan in an 18-year-old poaching case, overturning a lower court’s order, which found him guilty of killing an endangered species of gazelle.

Khan, 50, was convicted in 2007 for hunting down and killing chinkaras in two separate occasions in 1998 for which he was awarded a one-year prison term and a five-year prison term respectively.

“We have got absolute relief in both cases,” Khan’s counsel Nishant Bora told Reuters over telephone.

Mahesh Bora, another defence counsel, argued in court that the lone witness on both occasions did not appear in court and that the pellets found in Khan’s room were not the same ones that were found to have killed the gazelles. The state is expected to appeal against the judgement in the Supreme Court.

Khan is also accused of killing an endangered antelope in October 2, 1998. The trial in that case is being heard by a separate court.

Khan is arguably Bollywood’s biggest star and the latest judgment will come as a huge relief to him and to producers who are banking on him to pull the industry out of its slump. His latest film, “Sultan” has grossed more than $74.3 million worldwide in two weeks, and media reports said a television channel has signed a deal of $148 million with the star for the TV rights to his next ten films.

But controversies and Khan’s image as a bad boy who won’t grow up doesn’t seem to leave him. Earlier this month, the actor invited the ire of women’s groups by comparing the training sessions for his latest film to how a raped woman feels. He has declined to apologise for the statement.

Last year, the Bombay High Court acquitted him in a hit-and-run case in which he was accused of running over a homeless man in an inebriated condition. Khan has maintained his innocence in all the cases.