Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has turned 59 today. In an acting journey spanning over 3 decades, Salman has done 85 films and won 74 awards. He is also on top in charity. However, Salman's life was full of controversies and he has been given the title of bad boy. Controversy began in his life in 1998, when his name surfaced in a blackbuck poaching case and he had to go to jail. 26 years have passed since the case, but the controversy does not stop. In the same year, the Lawrence gang opened fire at Salman's home, Galaxy Apartments, and hatched a murder plot.
The case began in Kankani village in 1998, when some villagers heard gunshots and saw Salman fleeing in a gypsy. Villagers said that Salman came out brandishing a gun. While Salman every time in the court only said that he is innocent. Three cases of poaching were registered against Salman, in 2 of which he was acquitted, but the villagers still stand by his statement in the third blackbuck case.
Today on Salman Khan's 59th birthday we are going to tell you the story of that dark page in his life, when his name came up in Shikarcase. Frontpage Insights reaches the victim's Kankani village, from where the story begins. Know the sequential story of the 3 poaching cases-
How did the controversy begin? In the year 1998 between 1-2 October at around 1 am, gunshots rang out from the forest of Kankani, 20 km from Jodhpur. When the villager came running, he saw Salman Khan sitting on the driving seat in his white Gypsy, Saif Ali Khan on the side seat, 3 actresses Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam on the back seat and 2 others were also there. Back when 2 other villagers tried to stop the gypsy, Salman Khan ran away brandishing his gun.
Salman Khan in a white gypsy during the shooting of 'Hum Saath Saath Hai'.
As soon as two eyewitnesses saw this, they filed a complaint against Salman Khan for poaching an antelope on the morning of 2nd October. Salman was arrested on 9 October 1998. Salman has been doing court rounds for years and the case is still pending in the Jodhpur court.
Eyewitness Chogaram's son said – Father had recorded the number of the car Frontpage Insights's reporter Praveen Singh reached Kankani village, 20 kilometers from Jodhpur, where people from the Bishnoi community mostly live, to get a closer look at the matter. In the village we reached the house of Chogaram, an important witness and prosecutor. It was learned that Chogaram had passed away last year, though his son Ram Niwas remembered that night.
Chogaram, an important witness in the blackbuck poaching case, died last year.
Ram Niwas told us-
At that time I was 10-11 years old. A shot was fired 100 meters from the house, hearing which the father followed him with uncle (Poonamchand) and noted down the Gypsy's number. Dad was poor so he didn't watch movies so he didn't know all of them. He reported to the police station at night. The police did not take any action then. The villagers themselves went to Umaid Bhawan in search of the gypsy. There it came to know that the car has been hired at the palace. A film was being shot in a nearby fort. There it came to know who this car belongs to.
Chogaram said in the statement – I saw Salman driving a gypsy Chogaram had said in the complaint that he was woken up by Poonam Chand's voice. They saw a vehicle entering their fields. Suspecting it to be a hunting vehicle, he got behind Poonam Chand's bike and followed the vehicle. He recorded the number (RJ19.1C.2201) of a white Gypsy with 7 people on board. Salman was driving the car and Saif was sitting with him. In the back seat were three girls, whom he did not recognize at the time.
He chased Poonamchand the gypsy for a long time. After going some distance, Salman reduced the Gypsy's speed and gave him a chance to overtake. As soon as he moved the bike forward, Salman took a U-turn and increased his speed and fled. When 2 other witnesses Sheshram and Mangilal tried to stop Salman's gypsy, he walked away brandishing a gun.
Exhumed and re-postmortem Following a complaint, two antelope carcasses were recovered from Kankani on 2 October 1998. According to the postmortem report done by DONP Nepal, the cause of death of the deer was not hunting. A few days later, it was suspended and the deer was again exhumed and postmortemed. This usually does not happen. Another report came in that the death was due to a bullet injury.
What was Salman's statement in court?
The judge asked Salman – On the night of 2 October 1998, you went to Kankani border in the accused Gypsy. There, at the instigation of the other accused, they shot dead two antelopes. Did you run away in a gypsy when the villagers came?
Salman's answer- I came here for a film shoot. We had a tight security system in place. It was not possible to go out in such a condition. The question of hunting does not arise.
The judge asked Salman- Dr. Nepal conducts first postmortem of antelope. A case was registered against him when irregularities were found. After this, the postmortem conducted by the Medical Board revealed that he died of gunshot wounds?
Salman's answer- Dr. Nepal's report was correct. The subsequent report is completely false.
Picture taken at the time of Salman Khan's arrest from Jodhpur.
Salman Khan said – Deer died due to overeating Salman Khan told Aap Ki Adalat that the first postmortem report of the blackbuck said that one buck died of overeating and the other due to a broken leg and was eaten by dogs. This was the first postmortem report. On 2 October, Dr. Came to Nepal (Veterinarian NP Nepaliya). He examined the animals. From October 2 to October 9, when the arrests were made, how would we know who they were playing, who they killed, where they fell, where they took them from. We did not even know that such an investigation was taking place. If we were hunting, we would go every day. We could have held hands.
After 10-11 days, the animals were postmortemed again, the animals were buried, exhumed and postmortemed, which never happened. While the host of the show, Rajat Sharma said, post mortem is never done in animal cases. On that Salman said, this does not happen in the case of men too. A second post-mortem revealed that it could have been a gunshot.
2 cases of poaching were registered due to driver Harish's statement
When we spoke to Harish Dulani, the driver who was with Salman Khan in the blackbuck poaching case, he said that he was not with him then, but he was with him in the last two hunts he did.
Harish said in the police statement-
October 1, 1998 was the day of Dussehra. At around 1 pm, Salman himself asked to drive the car and made him sit in the back. Chasing a herd of deer, Salman drove the car into the fields of Bambor. After some time he returned. At around 11.45 hours, Dushyant Singh came to her and gave her another car key and asked her to park the car in the parking lot of Umaid Bhawan Palace and sleep. At this time he saw that Salman was in the driving seat of the white gypsy, Saif Ali was with him and there were 3 actresses in the back seat. Dushyant Singh was also sitting behind in that car. As soon as everyone left, Harish went to the hotel and slept.
Harish is not aware of what happened that night, but he was with Salman when he hunted earlier. Harish said-
On September 28, 1998, Salman hunted two deer near a horse farm located near the hills of Ujila. I was with Salman Khan. He hunted, then killed the deer with a knife and left for his hotel, the Umaid Bhawan Palace. The driver in a white gypsy took the meat to the horse farm, the deer was skinned and cut into pieces, which were brought to the blessing hotel and cooked. It was delivered to Salman Khan.
Blood stains were found in Salman's gypsy during the investigation After the complaint was registered, the police conducted an investigation and found the remains including deer skin buried in the horse farm. Deer pieces were found in the blessing hotel (where the meat was cooked) and traces of blood were found in the wash basin. Blood was also found on Salman's white gypsy, which was presented as crucial evidence.
Salman's statement in court
The judge asked Salman- Your gypsy had traces of blood. During investigation it was found to be the blood of chinkara deer.
Salman told the court- That report is false.
Salman said- Gypsy had the blood of a dance choreographer Salman Khan said in Aap Ki Adalat that everything was checked by the forensic department and nothing was found. The vehicle in which Gypsy was being transported was lying in the open. Later it was forensically examined. Nothing came out of that either. When they asked me where this blood came from, I said it was not animal blood. This is our dance director, Mr. Jay Borade, sitting inside Gypsy. He held the car when the speed breaker came on. In such a situation, the breaker of the seat inside the Gypsy hit the thumb and it bled.
According to the statement of driver Harish Dulani, on 26-27 September 1998, Salman Khan shot a deer about 5-7 kilometers from a horse farm and was hacked when it died. The halal deer was taken to the farm and killed. A man named Om Singh, who accompanied him on the hunt, took him with him.
Salman Khan was accused in the case and sentenced to 5 years in prison on 10 April. Salman Khan appealed the case to the High Court, after which he was acquitted on 25 July 2016.
Frontpage Insights's team reached his village Kankani to confirm the driver Harish's statement, but learned from the villagers that there was no news of Harish for a long time. He does not come to the village. His number is also closed now.
Salman Khan came out of Jodhpur Central Jail in 2007.
Salman Khan said – Awareness spread after I got the punishment Salman Khan said in Aap Ki Adalat that everything has its benefits. This problem happened to me. I keep going to jail, but the truth is that if he can send Salman Khan to jail in a poaching case, all the poaching people have stopped poaching. Ever since Salman Khan was jailed, the poaching has stopped and awareness has spread.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
