By Anil Sharma, IANS
Jodhpur : Bollywood star Salman Khan spent a sleepless second night at the central jail here as he anxiously awaited the Rajasthan High Court decision Monday on his revision and bail pleas following his incarceration for hunting an endangered deer.
“Though the petition was filed Aug 25, the day when Salman was arrested, his counsel will have to convince the court about the need for urgency, which will be quite difficult,” said Puneet Sharma, a lawyer here.
If the court does not hear his plea Monday, Salman will have to wait until Wednesday – Tuesday being a holiday on account of the Rakhi festival.
The celebrity prisoner, hero of countless films and a style icon who has been sentenced to five years in prison for hunting an endangered deer nine years ago in a village near here, surrendered himself to Rajasthan Police Saturday following an arrest warrant.
“His sisters Alvira and Arpita are here. They want to take Salman back to Mumbai for Rakhi. But if the case is not heard, they will seek permission from the court to tie rakhi in prison,” a source close to Salman’s family said.
According to a source in the jail, the actor is not eating much, mosquitoes were troubling him and he had spent a sleepless second night in prison.
Salman, who is prisoner No. 343 of Jodhpur central jail, once again had gur (jaggery), channa (roasted gram) and tea for breakfast Monday. “He got up early in the morning, did some exercises and was offered the usual breakfast,” the source told IANS.
Meanwhile, some of his ardent fans prayed at the dargah of Sufi saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chisti in Ajmer, hoping for his early release.
On Sunday, Salman did have some reason to cheer when three of his near and dear ones were allowed to visit him and spend over 20 minutes with him.
Jail authorities had given special permission to Salman’s brother Arbaz Khan, his sister Alvira and model-turned-actor and close friend Katrina Kaif to meet Salman.
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”.
On Friday, the district and sessions court here had 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 judgement of the lower court. The court had found Salman guilty under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.