New Delhi, May 7 (NIE): Bollywood actor Salman Khan on Monday appeared before the Jodhpur Districts and Sessions Court in connection with the suspension of his sentencing in the Blackbuck poaching case. The next date of hearing has been decided as July 17, ANI reported. Khan, who was sentenced to five years in jail and later released on bail, arrived in Jodhpur on Sunday. He was accompanied by his sister Alvira, bodyguard Shera among others, PTI reported.

Khan had spent two nights in jail after he was found guilty of killing two blackbucks in September 1998 in Kankani village, Jodhpur, during the shooting of “Hum Saath Saath Hain”. The court acquitted all the other accused — actors Saif Ali Khan, Tabu, Neelam and Sonali Bendre; and Dushyant Singh, a resident of the area.

While Salman Khan thanked his fans and well-wishers after his release, the Bishnoi community said they would oppose the decision of the court. “We will study the judgment and will oppose the bail along with the acquittal of the other five accused,” said Bishnoi community leader Ramniwas Budhnagar.

The actor was earlier granted bail on the condition that he will have to produce two sureties worth Rs 25,000 and a bail bond of Rs 50,000. He was also directed not to leave the country without the court’s permission. The actor was however allowed to travel after he submitted an application seeking permission to go to foreign locations for professional commitments.

According to the prosecution, on the night of October 1, 1998, Khan was in a vehicle when he spotted a herd of blackbucks — an endangered animal and included in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 — in Kankani village and killed two of them. However, Salman’s lawyer said that the fact that the court has acquitted all the five co-accused, “would imply that Salman was out hunting alone in the middle of the night in a remote area outside Jodhpur.”