Salman arrested at Jodhpur airport

Bollywood actor Salman Khan was arrested at the Jodhpur airport today, a day after his plea for bail in connection with the 1998 Chinkara shooting case was rejected.

Mumbai, Aug 25 : Bollywood actor Salman Khan was arrested at the Jodhpur airport today, a day after his plea for bail in connection with the 1998 Chinkara shooting case was rejected.

Salman, who reportedly arrived here with his brother Sohail Khan and lawyer Dipesh Mehta, was taken into police custody soon after his arrival at the airport.

Salman will have to spend at least four days in jail, as Monday and Tuesday are court holidays.

Before leaving for Jodhpur, Salman spoke to reporters and said, "I am going to Jodhpur. As a responsible citizen and somebody who abides by the law, I think I will go to the court. I have full faith in the judiciary."

Jodhpur District and Sessions Judge K R Singhvi on Friday upheld the five-year jail term given to the actor by a lower court in April 2006 for poaching an endangered chinkara in 1998. The court also issued an arrest warrant against him.

Mehta has said Salman will file a review petition in the Rajasthan High Court.

"The (court's) order is 76 pages long. We will read it and file a revision application in the Rajasthan High Court on Monday," said Mehta.

On April 10, 2006, the Chief Judicial Magistrate convicted Salman and sentenced him to five years imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on him.

After his conviction by the lower court, Salman had to stay in a Jodhpur jail for four days.

During the shooting of the movie "Hum Saath Saath Hain" in 1998, Salman and others poached two Chinkaras at Ujiyala Bhakhar near Ghoda Farm.

Six others accused in the case, Bollywood actors Saif Ali Khan, Satish Shah, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari, have been acquitted.

The actor has also been sentenced to a year's imprisonment in another poaching case at Bhawad, and has appealed against it as well.

The hearing in that case has not begun as the case is pending before the Rajasthan High Court where the State Government has filed an appeal for an enhancement of sentence.

The actor has been booked under the Wildlife Protection Act.

ANI