Hindi actor Salman Khan was on Wednesday acquitted in a case registered against him under the Arms Act in Jodhpur in 1998 along with the cases of poaching of chinkaras and black bucks, when he was shooting for Hindi film Hum Saath Saath Hain .
Jodhpur Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit exonerated Mr. Khan in the matter, while holding that the prosecution had failed to produce evidence and witnesses to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The police and the Forest Department had claimed that Mr. Khan was in possession of illegal arms, with expired licences, which he had used to hunt two black bucks on October 1 and 2, 1998, in Kankani village on the outskirts of Jodhpur.
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The Magistrate pronounced his order holding Mr. Khan not guilty in the court where the actor along with his sister Alveera was present. A huge crowd of fans, who had gathered outside the court building, cheered the verdict which gave benefit of doubt to Mr. Khan.
The defence lawyers, who had pleaded that Mr. Khan was innocent and had been framed in the case, said justice had been rendered by the court. Mr. Khan was acquitted in two cases of poaching of chinkaras in July last year, but he still faces trial in the Kankani village issue, which is yet to be concluded.
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PTI adds:
Salman thanks fans
Taking to Twitter, the star expressed his gratitude to fans for showing their immense support throughout his trial.
“Thank you for all the support and good wishes,” the actor wrote.
The case under the Arms Act is one of the four cases against the actor. While the Rajasthan High Court has acquitted him in two cases of poaching of chinkara, trial in the third case of alleged poaching of two blackbucks is on.
Elaborate security arrangements were made in the court premises in view of Salman’s appearance with nearly 150 policemen deployed.
A large number of the actor’s fans were also present near the court premises.