Bollywood superstar Salman Khan often remains in the headlines for his personal life more than his films. Especially, his enmity with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi has been in the news for a long time. Salman has been on Lawrence’s radar since the infamous blackbuck poaching case of 1998. Now, a film based on this case is being made. The first poster of the film has also been released. The poster of this film named *Blackbuck* was released recently. The film will be based on the story of Salman Khan’s 1998 blackbuck poaching case. The film will also have characters representing both Salman and Lawrence. With that in mind, let’s look at the details of this entire incident – what actually happened, and what has happened so far in this case?
What was the whole matter?
Salman Khan was first embroiled in controversies during the shooting of the 1998 film *Hum Saath-Saath Hain*. While shooting the film in Rajasthan, he was accused of hunting blackbucks along with his co-stars. According to the FIR registered in this case, he was accused of hunting three black bucks and two chinkaras on separate occasions. He has also served jail sentence in this case. The Bishnoi community of Rajasthan is famous for its commitment towards nature and wildlife conservation. They consider black deer to be an incarnation of their spiritual master, Guru Jambheshwar, and worship him. The Bishnoi community says that Salman should apologize to them for this act; Similarly, gangster Lawrence has also been threatening to kill Salman for some time.
In an old interview, Salman Khan himself had spoken openly about this incident. He told what really happened that night. According to Salman: “9th [अक्टूबर] On, we were shooting the film *Hum Saath Saath Hain*. The shooting of the film was going on in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The police came and took all of us into custody. Tabu, Sonali and Neelam were also included among them. We all went to jail. However, till date we do not know the exact reason why this happened.” In fact, the initial post-mortem report did not mention that the blackbuck was hunted. That report also clearly mentioned the blood stains found on the gypsy vehicle. The truth is that we had not gone anywhere; we were staying on the film set. There is no basis for this case.
What happened on the basis of FIR and charge sheet?
According to reports, some people had gone out for hunting late night in Bhavat area of Rajasthan. Armed with guns, they rode in a gypsy cart and hunted blackbuck. Hunting blackbuck is prohibited, and blackbuck is considered a sacred animal in the Bishnoi community. According to the FIR, two blackbucks were hunted that day. Two days later, another blackbuck was hunted. This time too, a group of people had gone out hunting riding a gypsy. A few days later, gunshots were heard once again in a village in Rajasthan. However, this time people living nearby became alert after hearing the sound of gunshots, and they started following in the direction of the sound. One of these people said in his testimony that he had seen several people inside the gypsy that day – including Salman Khan. The witness could recognize only Salman Khan among the people sitting in the car, because he had seen Salman Khan’s films earlier.
This was the moment when Salman Khan’s name came up for the first time in connection with this case. Forest department officials arrested Salman Khan in this case. After being found guilty in the case, he was sentenced to five years in prison. Since then, Salman Khan has been interrogated several times in this case and has gone to Jodhpur several times in connection with the hearing of the case. In the last 20 years, he has been sent to jail four different times. The last time he had to go to jail in this case was in 2018, when he was kept in jail for two days.
Salman’s fault
Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in jail in this case; However, after an appeal filed on his behalf, the High Court stayed this punishment. Subsequently, an appeal was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s decision. Salman had to spend a few days in Jodhpur jail, but later he got bail. So far, no verdict has been given in this case. The reason for delay in this case is its high-profile and the period of Covid-19 pandemic. As a result – apart from the threats Salman Khan is receiving from Lawrence Bishnoi or the Bishnoi community – this legal case related to Salman is stuck in the court till the next hearing. Further action will be taken only after the court gives its decision.
Teaser will be released on June 20
Amit Jha is the producer of the film *Black Deer*, and he recently shared some information about this project. As reported by *Filmfare*, Jani said: “The story of the film will be based on the 1998 blackbuck poaching in Jodhpur’s Kankani village; the controversies surrounding the incident; and the fight between Salman and Lawrence.” The producer further revealed that the film will feature various aspects in detail, including Salman’s role alongside actors like Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and Sonali Bendre, as well as Salman’s punishment and other related incidents. The teaser of the film is going to be released on June 20.