Salman Khan, one of Bollywood's top actors on Saturday became "prisoner no 343" at the Jodhpur Central Jail after he was arrested and jailed for five years for hunting an endangered chinkara deer in 1998.
Salman, 41, looked subdued and was mostly quiet as policemen took him into custody on his arrival from Mumbai by a Jet Airways flight and rushed him in a police jeep to a courtroom before sending him to jail.
The dramatic jailing, which drew hundreds of his fans to the court and the prison complex, came a day after a district court upheld the five-year jail term given to Salman by a lower court.
Salman has been convicted of poaching a chinkara deer at the Ghoda farm near Jodhpur on the night of September 28, 1998 while filming Sooraj Barjatya's blockbuster Hum Saath Saath Hain.
Jail sources told IANS that Salman had been sent to barrack no 1.5, where the hugely popular actor had spent three nights in April 2006 before he got bail. Giving him company is Mahesh, who was with Salman during his first jail also.
Jail officials said Salman may be a celebrity but he would wear the white prison dress like everyone else and get 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.
The actor, Ram said, would be allowed to meet three people in 15 days.
"His food would also be similar to what is given to other jail inmates," the official said. Other sources said this would mostly be chapatis and lentils. But since the actor had been sentenced to undergo "simple imprisonment", he would not have to do any hard labour.
When he landed in Jodhpur, Salman was dressed in a white T-shirt, jeans and sporting sunglasses. Accompanying him were his brother Sohail, bodyguard Shera and his counsel Dipesh Mehta.
A large number of journalists and fans gathered at the airport and later outside the court and jail to catch a glimpse of the star. The police had a tough time controlling the crowds.
"We took him into custody and took him to court, which ordered that the actor be taken to Jodhpur Central Jail," a police official told IANS.
Salman is the second Bollywood star to be jailed in a span of a month. Sanjay Dutt spent 23 nights in Mumbai and Pune prisons after being convicted under the Arms Act in the 1993 Mumbai bombings. He is currently out on bail.
Although the killing of the deer by Salman and his friends had evoked widespread revulsion, there was no dearth of Salman lovers on Saturday.
"He is my hero and is suffering because of his celebrity status," insisted Rupali Singh, a college student who described herself an ardent devotee of the Bollywood actor.
According to legal experts, Salman will have to spend at least two nights in jail as the court does not sit on Saturday and Sunday too is a holiday. Any bail plea can be taken up only on Monday.
However, Salman's lawyers Saturday filed a revision petition in the Rajasthan High Court on Saturday.
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