Salman meets Arbaz, Katrina in prison

Jodhpur, Aug 26 (IANS) Prisoner No.343 of Jodhpur central jail, Bollywood star Salman Khan, was afforded some cause to cheer Sunday when three of his near and dear ones were allowed to visit him and spend over 20 minutes with him.

The celebrity prisoner, hero of countless films and a style icon who has been sentenced to five years in prison for hunting an endangered deer nine years ago in Rajasthan, surrendered himself to Rajasthan Police Saturday following an arrest warrant.

Jail authorities had given special permission to Salman's brother Arbaz Khan, his sister Alvira and model-turned-actor and close friend Katrina Kaif to meet Salman between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Arbaz, Alvira and Katrina along with other family members and friends came from Mumbai to Jodhpur early in the afternoon, drawing crowds of fans and onlookers at the airport.

Along with Alvira, Katrina dressed in a white kurta and jeans and Arbaz in a pink T-shirt and trousers spent over 20 minutes with Salman in the jail.

'Salman was dressed in white khadi clothes of the jail and he looked fine as he met the three of them together,' a source in the jail told IANS.

Outside the prison, police had a difficult time to control the enthusiastic fans who wanted to have a glimpse of the stars.

Salman had a dal (lentil) and two chapattis for lunch Sunday afternoon after his first night in prison. He also washed his utensils himself and drank water from an earthen pot.

For breakfast, he had gur (jaggery), channa (roasted gram) and tea, while the dinner the night before consisted of four rotis and a vegetable dish, prison sources, who are not allowed to speak to the media, told IANS on condition of anonymity.

They said it was pleasant to see Salman, known for his devotion to bodybuilding, exercising in the morning.

'When he was doing exercises other prisoners tried to copy his movements and Salman by gestures tried to teach them the correct way,' a source added.

He spent the first night in jail reading newspapers and some of the books there.

The actor had wanted to take a bath at night but found the bathroom bulb fused. He requested that it be changed and it was done, the sources said.

He also wanted blankets to sleep in and was provided the same. He was asked to wake up at 5 a.m. as per jail regulations.

'He looks fine, though a bit tense,' one source said.

Salman has been sent to Barrack No. 1.5, where he had spent three nights in April last year before he got bail.

The actor is attired in the regulation white prison dress like everyone else and gets no special treatment.

'We will follow the jail manual strictly and no additional (facilities) will be provided to Salman,' senior jail official Ota Ram said.

Since the actor had been sentenced to undergo 'simple imprisonment', he would not have to do any hard labour, the official said.

Salman has been convicted of poaching a chinkara deer at the Ghoda farm near Jodhpur on the night of Sep 28, 1998, while filming Sooraj Barjatya's blockbuster 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.

According to legal experts, Salman's bail plea can be taken up only on Monday. However, his lawyers filed a revision petition in the Rajasthan High Court Saturday.

His counsel Hastimal Saraswat said Saturday: 'We have filed a revision petition in the high court. Though the court does not sit on Saturday but the court office is open, so we are filing the petition today. We will also plead for his bail when the court hears our petition.'

The district and sessions court here Friday dismissed the actor's plea against the five-year jail term handed by the chief judicial magistrate's court.

In April last year, Salman had filed an appeal in the district and sessions court against the judgment of the lower court in Jodhpur. The court had found Salman guilty under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Salman is the second film star to be sentenced to prison in recent weeks. Sanjay Dutt had to spend 22 days in prison earlier this month after he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for his role in the Mumbai bombings of 1993.