By Anil Sharma, IANS
Jodhpur : Prisoner No.343 of Jodhpur jail, Bollywood star Salman Khan, used to all the comforts that money can buy, had a spartan breakfast of gur (jaggery), channa (roasted gram) and tea Sunday after his first night in prison.
The celebrity prisoner, who has been sentenced to five years in prison for hunting an endangered deer nine years ago in Rajasthan, spent the first night in jail reading newspapers and some of the books there.
Salman, who surrendered himself to Rajasthan Police Saturday following an arrest warrant, had a dinner of four rotis and a vegetable dish, prison sources, who are not allowed to speak to the media, told IANS on condition of anonymity.
The actor had wanted to take a bath at night but found the bathroom bulb fused. He requested that it be changed and it was done, the sources said.
He also wanted blankets to sleep in and was provided the same. He was asked to wake up at 5 a.m. as per jail regulations.
“He looks fine, though a bit tense,” one source said.
Lunch would be dal and rotis.
Salman has been sent to Barrack no. 1.5, where he had spent three nights in April last year before he got bail.
The actor is attired in the regulation white prison dress like everyone else and gets no special treatment.
“We will follow the jail manual strictly and no additional (facilities) will be provided to Salman,” senior jail official Ota Ram said.
The actor would be allowed to meet three people in 15 days.
Since the actor had been sentenced to undergo ‘simple imprisonment’, he would not have to do any hard labour, the official said.
Meanwhile, some of the celebrity guests who are flying to the city to meet Salman include his girlfriend Katrina Kaif, his brother Arbaz Khan, sister Alvira and other family members.
Salman has been convicted of poaching a chinkara deer at the Ghoda farm near Jodhpur on the night of Sep 28, 1998, while filming Sooraj Barjatya’s blockbuster “Hum Saath Saath Hain”.
According to legal experts, Salman’s bail plea can be taken up only on Monday. However, his lawyers filed a revision petition in the Rajasthan High Court on Saturday.
His counsel Hastimal Saraswat said: “We have filed a revision petition in the high court. Though the court does not sit on Saturday but the court office is open, so we are filing the petition today. We will also plead for his bail when the court hears our petition.”
The district and sessions court in Jodhpur on Friday dismissed the actor’s plea against the five-year jail term handed by the chief judicial magistrate’s court.
In April last year, Salman had filed an appeal in the district and sessions court against the judgment of the lower court in Jodhpur. The court had found Salman guilty under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.