Blackbuck poaching case: Jodhpur court warns Salman, says to reject bail plea if he fails to appear

Jodhpur, July 04: Bollywood actor Salman Khan's bail in connection with 1998 blackbuck poaching case will be rejected if he doesn't appear before the court in next hearing, the Jodhpur court said on Thursday. The next date of hearing is 27th September. The Court directed Salman Khan to be present before it on that date. He did not appear before the court today.

The Bollywood actor had on April 5 been convicted in the 19-year-old case and sentenced to five years in jail for killing two blackbucks in Jodhpur during the shooting of the 1998 movie Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Subsequently, Salman was granted bail after spending two nights in the Jodhpur Central jail. Salman's Hum Saath Saath Hain co-stars Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Saif Ali Khan and Neelam and Jodhpur resident Dushyant Singh, another accused in the case, were all acquitted due to lack of evidence.

In 1998, in Jodhpur, while shooting for a film, Salman was accused of hunting a protected species of deer. Salman was convicted and sentenced to five years of imprisonment after being found guilty of killing a couple of blackbucks. However, a court later granted bail to the actor after he spent two nights at the Jodhpur Central jail.

Meanwhile, on the workfront, Salman is set to be back on the small screen as the host of Dus Ka Dum and is shooting for the big screen venture Race 3, among other projects.