India actor appeals poaching sentence

JODHPUR, India, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Indian movie star Salman Khan Monday appealed his sentence in a blackbuck poaching case.

The prominent Bollywood actor was in court in Jodhpur to appeal his five-year jail sentence in the 1998 hunting of Chinkara in the desert state of Rajasthan. Chinkara, a blackbuck, is a protected animal under the Wild Life Protection Act and is also considered sacred.

Khan, who has denied any wrongdoing, has been free on bail, the BBC reported. Other media reports said Khan had been ordered to make a personal appearance in the court.

The Khan case comes on the heels of the sentencing of Sanjay Dutt, another popular Bollywood actor. Dutt was sentenced to six years in jail last week for buying weapons from those involved in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings in which 257 people were killed. Dutt's lawyers are preparing an appeal in the Supreme Court.