Salman Khan recalls meeting 'petrified' blackbuck in viral interview: 'He ate fattening biscuits and…'

Salman Khan once recounted his encounter with a herd of blackbuck. The actor was accused of poaching blackbucks in a village in Rajasthan in 1998. Salman shot for Hum Saath-Saath Hain with Saif Ali Khan, Tabu and Sonali Bendre. The allegations led to Salman becoming embroiled in a massive legal battle. In the process that dragged on for 26 years, Salman was arrested, bailed, acquitted, convicted and bailed again. During the case, Salman gave a few interviews to give his side of the story. In one of them, he confirmed, he crossed paths with a herd of blackbucks.

Speaking to NDTV's Sonia Singh in 2009, Salman Khan said he only fed the blackbuck. He also recounted the events that led to the case. “I think that’s why. One day after packing, we were all driving past, there was Saif, there was Tabu, there was Neelam, there was Amrita, there was Sonali, and we saw a fawn stuck in a bush,” he said.

Salman added: “The whole herd was there so I stopped the car and he was petrified. We took him out from there and gave him some water. He was afraid. After a while he ate fattening biscuit khaya and wanted to leave. We packed up early that day. We all walked together. I think the whole thing grew from there.”

While Salman was punished, co-accused Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Tabu and Neelam Kothari were acquitted in case of doubt.

The case has now resulted in Salman receiving death threats from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his members. The actor has received several threats since 2022. Shots were also fired outside his home in Mumbai earlier this year. Salman's friend, political leader Baba Siddique, was murdered earlier this month. Bishnoi's gang members took responsibility for his murder and threatened Salman again. Meanwhile, strict security arrangements have been made for Salman.