A 20-year-old blackbuck poaching case finally caught up with actor Salman Khan on April 5 when a Jodhpur court sentenced the actor to five years in jail.
While shooting for Sooraj Barjatya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain in Jodhpur in September 1998, Salman Khan, along with his co-stars, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam, went out to hunt, which allegedly resulted in three chinkaras and two blackbuck being killed. Before this week’s conviction, Salman Khan had been acquitted in three cases related to the 1998 hunting expedition.
On Thursday, Khan was finally found guilty of the poaching of two endangered blackbuck under the Wildlife (Protection) Act. But his Hum Saath Saath Hain co-stars were acquitted.
This is not the first time Khan has had a serious brush with the law. In September 2002, the actor had been accused of driving his vehicle over people sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai, resulting in the death of one man. At the end of a long-drawn battle in the court, during which important case files disappeared and the primary witness died, the Bombay High Court in December 2015 ruled that Khan was not guilty.
So, finally, when Bollywood’s “bad boy” Khan received a five-year jail sentence on Thursday, a large section of people online and beyond felt that justice had been served. Soon enough, social media users got down to commemorate the moment with memes, jokes and everything in between.
It took 20yrs for Judiciary to prove Blackbuck didn't commit suicide. #Salmanconvicted #BlackBuckPoachingCase
— Sadhana Khamkar (@Sadhanak18) April 5, 2018
Judge: Why did you come to Jodhpur in 1998.
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) April 5, 2018
Salman Khan: To shoot...
Judge: You have confessed. GUILTY.
Salman Khan: ... Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Judge: You have confessed again. ALL OF YOU ARE GUILTY.#BlackBuckPoachingCase
in solidarity with salman sir, all salmaniacs will live like jail in their house. we will sleep on gas stove, eat andhra thali, read chomsky and watch auzaar. SALMAN IS A NOT A MAN HE IS MOVEMENT
— 🐿 (@prtxt) April 6, 2018
Salman Khan didn't kill the black buck, he sent it to a better place which doesn't have his movies.
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) July 25, 2016
Khan’s jail sentence has put the prospects of his upcoming releases in uncertain territory. These projects including films like Kick 2, Dabangg 3, Bharat, in addition to Race 3, parts of which have already been shot. A user pointed out how the court’s verdict would indirectly affect the chances of another actor eager to re-brand himself in Bollywood by being a part of Khan’s upcoming film.
Worse is the fact that Salman Khan’s conviction has jeopardised Bobby Deol’s comeback, Race 3. Spare a thought for his fans too.
— Avinash Iyer (@IyerAvin) April 5, 2018
Meanwhile, another user noted Khan’s track record of launching the film careers of a volley of new faces with questionable acting skills.
Salman Khan should get another 5 years for launching Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty, Daisy Shah, Sneha Ullal, and Zarine Khan.
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) April 5, 2018
The meme makers, meanwhile, made digs at various aspects of Khan’s chequered life, for example, the actor’s infamous brashness and ultra-machismo.
Interviewer (1998) - Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
— Bade Chote (@badechote) April 5, 2018
Salman Khan - Here only pic.twitter.com/wlhby3Dz6X
Salman bhai interrogating IG of Jodhpur Police. pic.twitter.com/C6uCbDbtDA
— LOLendra Singh (@LOLendraSingh) April 5, 2018
His history of repeated courtoom appearances was also fodder for the meme-makers.
These Salman Khan memes are lit af. 😂 #SalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/ewhh7YeQfV
— Ahmad Anas (@AhmadAnas419) April 5, 2018
Some users noted how Khan’s much-publicised humanitarian work through the actor’s organisation Being Human could not swing the verdict in the actor’s favour.
#BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/prQTPoh1P8
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) April 5, 2018
One user noted how the various people Khan had had tiffs with in the past such as singer Arijit Singh, actor Vivek Oberoi, and, well, of course, the poor blackbuck, were happy with the verdict.
😂😂😂😂#BlackBuckPoachingCase #BlackbuckPoaching #BlackBuck #SalmanKhan #SalmanConvicted #SalmanVerdict #BlackBuckCase #Jodhpur #JodhpurCentralJail #SalmanBailOrJail #salman Guilty pic.twitter.com/qhqerXN3Ud
— Abhishek Joshi (@itsmeabjoshi) April 6, 2018
Some were just silly fun.
Salman Khan coming out of court after the verdict. #BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/xZJAuVGV1O
— Pakchikpak Raja Babu (@HaramiParindey) April 5, 2018
Tiger jail me hai! #Braatchat #SalmanKhan #Jail #Memes #Trolls #FunnyVideos @BeingSalmanKhan #BlackBuckPoachingCase #JodhpurCentral pic.twitter.com/qquAqrEfED
— Braatchat (@Braatchat) April 5, 2018
#BlackBuckPoachingCase
— santhanakrishnan (@76santhanakrish) April 5, 2018
😂😂😂Found this one gubeer pic.twitter.com/a9kyQdK2SR
Pic1: Salman outside
— Rohit ForD🔞 (@Next_Abraham) April 5, 2018
Pic2: Salman inside the court #BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/P3FqaDWmjT
And why miss a chance to throw shade at Narendra Modi while you are at it?
There was no blackbuck, it was just optical illusion just like "Ache din aa gaye for my bhakts"#BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/xT6sb9m9Y4
— Narendra Godi (@TrollModii) April 5, 2018
Some Twitter users made fun of the fact that at the Jodhpur Central Jail, Khan had been put in a cell adjacent to that of rape convict and self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.
Exclusive Video !! Asaram's excitement after watching Salman in jail pic.twitter.com/b0krwuKmj6
— Faking News (@fakingnews) April 5, 2018
#Breaking: Asaram Bapu dresses himself in best available dress after he came to know that Salman Khan will be staying near his block.#BlackBuckPoachingCase pic.twitter.com/nBd60lC0ap
— The UnPaid Times (@UnPaidTimes) April 5, 2018
Meanwhile, cartoonists on Twitter illustrated the proceedings of the day in context of contemporary Indian realities with much nuance and perspective.
#SalmanKhan #SalmanKhanConvicted #SalmanVerdict #SalmanConvicted #BlackBuckPoachingCase #BlackBuckVerdict My #cartoon for @firstpost
— MANJUL (@MANJULtoons) April 5, 2018
Details: https://t.co/PreAZzdXlT pic.twitter.com/T2a0gajvwa
#SalmanKhan held guilty of all the charges in 2002 hit-&-run case. My #cartoon on #SalmanGuilty #SalmanKhanConvicted pic.twitter.com/dzk97M3ke5
— MANJUL (@MANJULtoons) May 7, 2015
#cartoon @timesofindia #SalmanKhan pic.twitter.com/JHYAtmu2Lh
— Sandeep Adhwaryu (@CartoonistSan) April 6, 2018