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Prisoner No.343 of Jodhpur central jail, Bollywood star Salman
Khan, was afforded some cause to cheer Sunday when three of his
near and dear ones were allowed to visit him and spend over 20
minutes with him. 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 Rajasthan, surrendered
himself to Rajasthan Police Saturday following an arrest
warrant.
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 between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Arbaz, Alvira and Katrina along with other family members and
friends came from Mumbai to Jodhpur early in the afternoon, drawing
crowds of fans and onlookers at the airport.
Along with Alvira, Katrina dressed in a white kurta and jeans and
Arbaz in a pink T-shirt and trousers spent over 20 minutes with
Salman in the jail.
"Salman was dressed in white khadi clothes of the jail and he
looked fine as he met the three of them together," a source in the
jail told IANS.
Outside the prison, police had a difficult time to control the
enthusiastic fans who wanted to have a glimpse of the stars.
Salman had a dal (lentil) and two chapattis for lunch Sunday
afternoon after his first night in prison. He also washed his
utensils himself and drank water from an earthen pot.
For breakfast, he had gur (jaggery), channa (roasted gram) and tea,
while the dinner the night before consisted of four rotis and a
vegetable dish, prison sources, who are not allowed to speak to the
media, told IANS on condition of anonymity.
They said it was pleasant to see Salman, known for his devotion to
bodybuilding, exercising in the morning.
"When he was doing exercises other prisoners tried to copy his
movements and Salman by gestures tried to teach them the correct
way," a source added.
He spent the first night in jail reading newspapers and some of the
books there.
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.
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.
Since the actor had been sentenced to undergo 'simple
imprisonment', he would not have to do any hard labour, the
official said.
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 Saturday.
His counsel Hastimal Saraswat said Saturday: "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 here 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.
Salman is the second film star to be sentenced to prison in recent
weeks. Sanjay Dutt had to spend 22 days in prison earlier this
month after he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for his role
in the Mumbai bombings of 1993.
By Anil Sharma
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