Jodhpur, April 5:  A Jodhpur court will today pronounce its verdict in the 1998 black buck poaching case against actor Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu, and Neelam. All the famous Bollywood celebrities involved in the 1998 blackbuck poaching case will be present in the court in Jodhpur to hear the verdict today. As per reports, the final arguments of the case were completed in the trial court on March 28, after which Chief Judicial Magistrate Dev Kumar Khatri had reserved the judgment.

To recall, Bollywood’s Bhai - Salman Khan was accused of killing two blackbucks in Bhagoda ki Dhani in Kankani village near Jodhpur on the intervening night of 1-2 October 1998, during the shooting of Hum Saath Saath Hain.

The actor is facing charges under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act and the other actors have been charged under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act read with Section 149 (unlawful assembly) of the Indian Penal Code.

Public Prosecutor Bhawani Singh Bhati had said that all (Salman, Saif, Sonali, Tabu and Neelam) were in a Gypsy car that night, with Salman Khan in the driving seat. “He, on spotting a herd of blackbucks, shot at and killed two of them,” Bhati added. “But on being spotted and chased, they fled from the spot leaving the dead animals there,” he said, adding that there was adequate evidence against them.

Salman’s counsel H.M. Saraswat however, denied these allegations and said there were several loopholes in the prosecution's story and it had failed to prove its case beyond any doubt. “Prosecution has failed to prove the allegations. It engaged in tampering and fabricating evidence and documents as well as roping in fake witnesses to prove its case,” he said.

Reports say that the case also involved two more accused, Dushyant Singh, who was allegedly accompanying the actors when the poaching took place, and Dinesh Gawre, said to be Salman Khan's assistant.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 05, 2018 09:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).