Salmanbhai will survive-Sohail Khan talks

Subhash K Jha



Sohail Khan hasn't slept much in the last two days. His star-brother Salman Khan is in trouble… yet again. And it looks like serious trouble. Sohail has been in consultation with lawyers all night. "They're competent and they know what they're doing. But they're helpless. With due respects to the law, our lawyers think the five-year sentence is unjust," he says.

"If it was a three-year sentence, the judge himself could've granted bail. He pronounced his sentence at 1.30 p.m. when the sessions court had already closed. That does seem strange… And now the hearing for the bail has been postponed for tomorrow. I can't understand it."

Sohail met Salman on Tuesday. "He's okay, he's in good health… And yes, he's eating," he says. "It's my mom we're worried about. After she heard the sentence she couldn't take it. She was expecting the bail today (Wednesday). Now we don't know how to break the news of the postponement to her. She can't bear the thought of Salmanbhai being in jail."

The entire Khan clan is under tremendous pressure. "They want to make an example of my brother only because of who he is," says Sohail. "Why such harsh punishment for him? Do they want to set a precedent? Till date no one has been granted such harsh punishment for similar cases … My brother even went to jail for an accident case. An accident cannot be considered a crime."

"I know he doesn't speak to the press," he adds. "But that's the way he is. He doesn't open up to anybody. Does that give anyone the right to hunt him down for offences that are not granted such severe sentences in other cases? Right now it has become a power game. 'Let's hunt this boy down. Let's bring him down to his knees'."

"Salman should be treated like an ordinary citizen, right now he is being treated much worse. If he's being made into an example is everyone in a black buck case going to go to prison and is everyone involved in a road accident going to go to jail? If you've sent Salmanbhai to jail, send everybody else involved in similar cases, too."

Sohail will remain in Jodhpur until further development. "I'm here with my sister," he says. "Today I was disappointed when the bail please was rejected. But that's okay. Tomorrow is another day. Salmanbhai will survive."


• They want to make an example of my brother only because of who he is. Why such harsh punishment for him?
– Sohail

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