NEWS

For How Long Will Salman Be In The Can?

April 11, 2006
Sandeep
Bollywood actor Salman Khan was today sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment and sent to central jail here by a local court in connection with the black buck poaching case .

Salman has been exceptional in riding roughshod with the law: there have been other similar brutes but they're no match for Salman. Predictably, Bollywood has dished out the same tired responses: good but misunderstood guy, heart of gold, nicest friend to have, helpful, kind. It doesn't take much effort to trace the motive behind this sickening parade of niceties. Salman's rightful place is an asylum--debarred from civil society for life.

While most of Bollywood grieves, a great majority feel happy--this blogger included--that he has been sentenced. Maybe the nameless, faceless Majority derives a secret thrill that the mighty paisawaala, the powerful film star has been brought down to his knees, robbed of his arrogance, and made to live in conditions akin a lowly pickpocket/rowdy.

Salman Khan may be Jodhpur jail's most famous inmate, but he didn't get the usual VIP treatment that Bollywood stars are accustomed to. Salman Khan, who was sentenced to five years in prison for poaching a black buck in a desert wildlife preserve, was dealt with like any other inmate, said prison director M L Chauhan on Tuesday. "There was no special treatment," Chauhan told reporters outside the jail, a day after a court in Jodhpur handed down the verdict. He was fed plain flat bread, vegetable curry and given an earthenware jar of water, like all the other prisoners, Chauhan said.

Part of the reason the public is thrilled is because it happens so rarely in India. Unlike the Jessica Lall case where moneyed and powerful guys got away without a scratch, Salman has actually been punished if we're to believe this Chauhan guy.

What's more disgusting is the comparison that Bollywood has been making to this and the Jessica Lall case. I recall hearing the "courageous" Preity Zinta's lung full outburst on the earlier, 1-year sentence the beast was awarded. The essence of her rightful anger was: it's sooooo unfair that the whole country is crying murder over the Jessica Lall affair while poor Salman, because he's a celebrity has been unfairly punished for what in essence is not a crime at all. Amit Varma has more or less the same to report:

Bollywood is speaking out on his behalf, of course, with Anubhav Sinha making the case that as some crimes are not punished, none should be. He is quoted in the Times of India as saying: "I want to know why the man who killed Jessica Lall walked away free? A celebrity is a sitting duck."

Right. And the whole world is Salman Khan's toy for him to break at will.

I can only hope that his Garv days are over with this 5-year RI he has received.

Sandeep works as a writer in an IT Services company based in Bangalore. Blogging is his latest and severely active hobby.
eXTReMe Tracker
Keep reading for comments on this article and add some feedback of your own!

Comments! Feedback! Speak and be heard!

Comment on this article or leave feedback for the author

#1
temporal
URL
April 11, 2006
12:21 PM

three days max!

reality check: too much money riding on his unfinished films

btw the punishment does appear excessive

#2
Sakshi
URL
April 11, 2006
01:19 PM

Temporal, couldnt agree more with you. Just cause Salman Khan is a big star, does he deserve a punishment like this, where a 'regular' citizen if committed the same act would not have got. At one point we say that 'in the eyes of law, we all are equal', then why does one have to pay excessive price for being a celebrity.

We all and media included, don't take time to jump on our gears when a celebrity goes unpunsihed but why do we back out when the very celebrities are crusified, just cause they are famous ?

Sandeep - comparison will be made between the Jessica Lal case and Salman Khan's, along with many other cases. In Jessica Lal's case, the wintnesses turned hostile and circumstancial evidense was ignored....accused walked free. Similar ruling in Priyadarshini's case. Constable More was sentenced for 10 years jail term for raping a minor girl....why didn't the judges in the above cases....try to make a similar impact, where the crime was far more severe.

#3
anon
April 11, 2006
01:37 PM

So animals get jsutive these days, women get jsutice but what about husbands

better to be animal but not a women, never.

animal is good.

#4
Sudeep
URL
April 11, 2006
02:08 PM

>> Temporal, couldnt agree more with you. Just cause Salman Khan is a big star, does he deserve a punishment like this, where a 'regular' citizen if committed the same act would not have got.

Sakshi, Salman was'nt convicted because he is a celebrity, he has been convicted because the investigative work performed by the authorities was top-notch. I can say this because I know the officer in charge of the whole affair from the forest dept. They anticipated that witnesses would turn hostile, so they did a video recording of the main witnesses in presence of a magistrate, and this is what put your Sallu bhai behind bars. In addition, the new rulings by the SC about hostile witnesses has changed the rules of the game.

As for the sentencing, it does appear to be pretty long as compared to other sentences in these kind of cases, but the dude pissed off the judges with his antics. Thinks he is a big don, that money can buy everything. Got what was coming to him... get over it.

#5
Sakshi
URL
April 11, 2006
02:27 PM

Sudeep - Ya the attitude, 'Got what was coming to him... get over it.' will surely take us far. Similar attitude can also be followed by others when it comes to Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini, etc. cases. The point here is NOT that Salman Khan got punished, the point here is that if an ordinary guy was in guilty of the same crime would he been given the same punishment.

And it's not cause the officers in-charge did excellant job with the case, as a matter of fact the main wintness had gone missing for 4 years. He had changed his statement many a times, first accusing Salman for pressuring him and then accusing the police officers for then same. In this case the judge took the matters in his own hands. So question here is, if he has the right to do so, then why didn't the judges in more grusome cases such as Jessica Lal's and Priyadarshini's case do the same? Why did they ignore strong circumstantical evidences?

As Anon, pointed out..it's better to an animal but not a women in this country.

#6
anon
April 11, 2006
02:30 PM

how about similiar attitude for 498a husbands rether than animals who get jsutuce int his counrty.

#7
temporal
URL
April 11, 2006
05:19 PM

yse, waht abuot waht?

#8
bevivek
URL
April 12, 2006
12:06 AM

The fact that justice was not done in the case of Jessica Lall, Mattoo and so so many other cases involving both men and women is a dangerous argument for a lenient sentence. And from what I hear, he is eligible for bail in a day's time making me wonder how much more lenient this sentence could be. Maybe he should have got the keys to the City of Jodhpur and be publicly feted!

And it is not as if the man is a first time offender. He has been accused of running over and killing a pavement dweller while drunk, gross physical abuse to his ex, stalking the same ex, making threatening phone calls .... I am not suggesting this sentence balances the inaction in others but to point out that such offences in any other person would lead to him being called a criminal, a habitual offender.

#9
Proud Jodhpuri - Sudeep
URL
April 12, 2006
03:04 PM

>> Sudeep - Ya the attitude, 'Got what was coming to him... get over it.' will surely take us far. Similar attitude can also be followed by others when it comes to Jessica Lal, Priyadarshini, etc. cases. The point here is NOT that Salman Khan got punished, the point here is that if an ordinary guy was in guilty of the same crime would he been given the same punishment.


If it was an ordinary guy, would he have been able to turn so many witnesses hostile ? Would he have hired expensive lawyers to argue his case till kingdom come ? Hell no. He would not have been able to post bail without bribing 100 people.

>> And it's not cause the officers in-charge did excellant job with the case, as a matter of fact the main wintness had gone missing for 4 years.

And that is where you are dead wrong. I know the PI from the forest dept who was investigating this case personally, a man whom I call bhaiyya (elder brother). A married man with two kids, he got calls from Badjatya asking if he would let Salman go for a night with *****. He was also given vieled death threats. Eventually, he was transferred.

The investigating team anticipated the main witness turning hostile. Whats their fault if he did so ? Salman had infinitely more resources than those guys. So they did the next best thing, they video taped the witness giving his statement in the presence of a judge. Later on, as expected the witness, bribed by Sman resiled on his statement, but the video recording nailed salman.

>> In this case the judge took the matters in his own hands. So question here is, if he has the right to do so, then why didn't the judges in more grusome cases such as Jessica Lal's and Priyadarshini's case do the same? Why did they ignore strong circumstantical evidences?

You have got to be kidding me. In both Mattos and Lals case, the investigation was deliberately sabotaged by the police. False witness was planted, the weapon was deliberately not recovered, people who should have been co-accused were made witnesses and so on. In this case theyve done their job and your "luv" of sallu makes you say, why didnt they do it in the other cases too !! Maybe, they would have, if the same people were in charge of investigations.

Secondly, there are recent precedents set by the SC in the Zaheera case about dealing with witnesses turning hostile. The judge in this case was merely following these. Lastly, Sman did not show any remorse - if anything, he created more trouble for the city of Jodhpur by playing the muslim card. Getting a crowd of beards to yell in his support outside the court. This justifies the harsh punishment IMO.

#10
Sudeep
URL
April 12, 2006
03:15 PM

>> In both Mattos and Lals case, the investigation was deliberately sabotaged by the police. False witness was planted,

False witness was planted should read false evidence was planted.

#11
sreedharan samudrey
URL
April 12, 2006
03:26 PM

May be politicians group involved in making corruption money from salman is not reached to their satisfaction.

He will be troubled as long as they are not satisfied with his money.

My question is only to those MEDIA..MEDIA and MEDIA and journalism. WHY.....WHY ...such bad politicians are not exposed by rich channels. Do they scare or they share money with these bad politicians becoming another shit in society.GOD knows ..?

#12
Karan
April 12, 2006
06:05 PM

Justice works for the rich and famous - the Courts have seen to that - when will it work for ordinary people?

Will the DA have prosecuted any ordinary guy who shot a buck? Would he have to come to know of it?

We need more courts, speedier justice, in this country...

Add your comment

(Or ping: http://desicritics.org/tb/1382)

Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.






Remember Name/URL?

Please preview your comment!