Salman Khan reaches the Sessions Court.
Actor Salman Khan has been found guilty of all charges by a Sessions Court in Mumbai in the hit-and-run case dating from 2002 and has been sentenced to five years in prison. The actor has been granted two days interim bail till May 8 by the Bombay High Court. All morning, Twitter had been watching eagerly for the verdict. (Also Read -
Salman Khan Convicted in Hit-and-Run: Rs 200 Crores Riding on Actor)
#SalmanKhanVerdict has been the top trend today. The verdict has been welcomed by several commenters, praising the judiciary for convicting a celebrity:
This morning, the 49-year-old actor's fans trended the hashtag #WeLoveSalmanKhan with several fervent messages hoping for the actor to be found not guilty.
The hashtag was trending in Pakistan as well.
Salman Khan is accused of drunkenly driving over five pavement dwellers in Mumbai in September 2002, killing one. He has been convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. (Also Read:
Shah Rukh Khan Visited Salman a Day Before Verdict)
Some tweets, like this one from stand-up comic Aditi Mittal, expressed disbelief that the actor would actually spend any significant time in jail:
Several Bollywood colleagues tweeted declaring solidarity with the actor.
The 49-year-old actor has not acknowledged the Twitter goodwill but his sister Arpita Khan Sharma and brother-in-law Atul Agnihotri have:
Salman Khan was driven to court in a white Mercedes Benz by Ashok Singh, his driver who claimed that it was he at the wheel of the SUV the night of the hit-and-run.
The actor's brothers, Sohail and Arbaaz, are at the court with him.