Salman reaches Jodhpur ahead of today's verdict

Bollywood actor Salman Khan reached Jodhpur day ahead of the verdict of the over-19-years-old blackbuck poaching case. The judgement is slated for April 5.

Salman reached Jodhpur at around 5:15  pm on a charter flight, along with his sisters Alvira Khan and Arpita Khan and bodyguard Shera.

Earlier in the day, actors Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali Bendre reached Jodhpur in a direct flight from Mumbai.

Salman went straight to the Taj Hari Mahal palace situated a few kilometres from Jodhpur city.

Last week, the chief judicial magistrate rural court in Jodhpur had completed the final hearings and reserved its judgment in the case,  which has been on trial for 19 and a half years.

The case dates back to October 1998 when Salman, Saif, Neelam, Tabu and Sonali allegedly went on a hunting expedition in Kankani and killed two blackbucks around the intervening midnight of October 1 and 2.

The actors were in Rajasthan for the shoot of the film Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Blackbucks are an endangered species and hunting them is prohibited under the Wildlife Protection Act.

The Bishnoi community, known for their love for the environment, had filed a complaint against the actors and a local involved in the shooting.  

Salman was also charged for keeping a  gun with an expired license and was charged under the Arms Act, a case in which he was acquitted by a trial court in January 2017.  

There were two more cases against Salman on the charges of killing two chinkaras (Indian Gazelle) but here as well the actor was acquitted by Rajasthan High Court in July 2016 for the poaching the chinkara.

However, prosecutors have challenged his acquittal; the case is currently pending in the Supreme Court.