Salman Khan may be a heartthrob of millions, but at the Jodhpur Central Jail he is just Qaidi No. 106 who was served simple dal-roti which he did not eat.
Khan, who was on Thursday sentenced to five years in prison for killing two blackbucks about 20 years ago, has been kept in ward no. 2, adjacent to the cell of self-styled godman Asaram.
Jail superintendent Vikram Singh, while briefing the media on the celebrity inmate, said Khan would be treated as a normal prisoner and no special treatment would be given to him.
He has been given a simple wooden bed, a rug and a cooler in his cell, Singh said. "He (Khan) was given normal jail diet like dal-chapatti and the morning meal will include simple khichdi," he said.
Sources, however, said the Bollywood icon did not eat the jail food.
Singh said that the actor had a blood pressure issue when he came inside the jail and the doctor of the prison dispensary checked him. His blood pressure was later declared normal.
Meanwhile, the session's court will hear Khan's bail plea at 10:30 am on Friday.
Anand Desai, Salman's legal counsel, said although they respected the court's verdict, the decision "came as a surprise" as the actor had been acquitted in the previous cases which had the same facts as in this one. "We respect the decision of the Hon'ble Court. While we are studying the judgement, it just came as a surprise, as the entire investigation, and facts of this case were the same as those for which Salman has been acquitted by the Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan in two cases, and even by the Hon'ble CJM in the Arms Act matter for the alleged offence on the very same night as is the subject matter of the present case," Desai said in a statement.
Khan was sentenced to five years in jail and fined Rs 10,000 for shooting down two blackbucks near Jodhpur on the night of October 1, 1998, while he and a group of other actors were in Rajasthan for the shooting of the film 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'.
"We are happy that justice has prevailed and a serial offender is behind bars. The judiciary has once again proved that the popularity of the accused has no bearing on the case before the court," PFA trustee Gauri Maulekhi said.
Khan, arguably Bollywood's most successful actor, had earlier been charged in other animal poaching cases.
Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) is an ungulate species of antelope native to the Indian subcontinent that has been classified in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list of threatened animals.
According to the IUCN, their range declined sharply in the 20th century because of unsustainable hunting. "Being human is all about showing respect for the life of others, which Salman Khan has repeatedly and frivolously taken for granted," Maulekhi said.
Khan was held guilty under Section 9/51 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act. Blackbucks are protected animals under Schedule I of the Act.