Jodhpur, Jan 25 (IANS): Bollywood celebrities Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan and others allegedly involved in the 1998 blackbuck poaching couldn't make it to a court here on Wednesday. The hearing was deferred to Friday.

The actors cited security reasons for their absence from the court.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) was to record the statement of Salman, Saif, actresses Neelam Kothari, Tabu and Sonali Bendre as well as a local resident, Dushyant Singh.

However, applications seeking exemption from personal appearance was submitted on behalf of the accused, saying police were not able to provide adequate security to them due to Republic Day celebrations.

This year, the state-level Republic Day celebratioons are being held in Jodhpur.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit posted the matter to Friday, K.K. Vyas, counsel for Saif, Sonali and Neelam, told IANS.

Dushyant Singh was present in the court.

The five Bollywood celebrities are accused of poaching blackbucks in 1998 during the shooting of Hindi movie "Hum Saath Saath Hain".

Two blackbucks, a protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, were killed on the outskirts of Kankani village near Jodhpur.

Salman was accused of carrying and using illegal arms too but the court acquitted him of the charges.