Bollywood Star Salman Khan Has Been Convicted of Poaching Protected Antelopes
Indian actor Salman Khan was found guilty of wildlife poaching and sentenced to five years in prison on Thursday in a decades-long case that has seen the Bollywood superstar dodge multiple prior charges. An Indian court in Jodhpur convicted Khan of killing two blackbucks, a protected species also called Indian antelopes, while shooting a film in India's western Rajasthan state in 1998, the BBC reports. Khan, who was taken into custody Thursday, was also fined 10,000 Indian rupees 154. Four other actors who starred in the film with Khan and were also charged in the incident have been acquitted. Khan, 52, who pleaded not guilty, can appeal the case to a higher court. If the appeal is accepted, he could be granted bail or even have his sentence overturned. The ruling is not the actor's first run-in with the law. In December 2015, Khan was cleared in a 2002 hit-and-run case in which a homeless man died. He had also been acquitted in three previous cases related to poaching and possession of firearms, according to the BBC.