Salman Khan guilty in black buck case: How bhai's fans reacted on Twitter

In September, 1998, during the shoot of Hum Saath Saath Hain, actors Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, and Sonali Bendre, went on a hunting trip to Bhagoda ki Dhani in the Kankani village of Rajasthan.

While there, the foursome allegedly shot down two blackbucks. The Bishnoi villagers registered a complaint against the actors a month later and subsequently Salman Khan was arrested in connection with “poaching of endangered animals”. While the actor received a quick bail, the case has dragged on for years and years.

Two decades later, on April 5, 2018, a Jodhpur court has convicted Khan. And while Khan has been convicted under Section 51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which carries maximum punishment of six years and minimum one-year jail term, the others - Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Sonali Bendre and Neelam Kothari - have been acquitted. The quantum of sentence is yet to be announced, but the sentence in itself is one that has been cheered. Salman Khan, who has previously managed to squirm of of tight legal situations, being held accountable for a crime is not a sight one sees every day.

Needless to say, people on social media erupted with jokes about the “Bhai” of Bollywood.

Though, not everyone was sure if this is as big a deal as it was being made to look like.

And there are also those who stand staunchly by the actor’s innocence.

Of course, while it is good to know that the legal system delivers even when it is fighting against the powerful, the span of court case is a sad reminder of how slow justice can be, and begs the question: does it spell jutice at all if it takes 20 years?

Perhaps the most relevant reaction comes from Salman Khan himself, in the form of a eight-year-old tweet:

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