JODHPUR: Bollywood actor Salman Khan on March 10 insisted that he had been wrongly accused of having illegal weapons and killing two blackbucks here in 1998.

“Main nirdosh hoon. Mujhe jhootha fasaya gaya hai. (I am not guilty. I have been falsely implicated),” the actor told Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit.

Khan has been accused of using illegal arms to kill the protected animals and carrying weapons with expired licence. He has been charged with violating the Arms Act.

It is the third time Khan has come to the Jodhpur court in connection with the case.

Khan’s counsel Hastimal Sarswat told IANS, “The court has fixed April 4 as the next date of hearing.” He said witnesses will be produced in Khan’s defence.

Khan and a few Bollywood actors have been accused of poaching the blackbucks on the night of October 1 and 2, 1998 when he was here to shoot the Hindi movie Hum Saath Saath Hain.

Two blackbucks, a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act of India, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur. The killings triggered outrage. —