Bishnoi Community Builds Black Buck Statue In Kankani Village Amid Threats To Actor Salman Khan

The Bishnoi community has erected a statue in Rajasthan to commemorate the black buck killed by Salman Khan in 1998.

The villagers of Kankani village in Rajasthan's Jodhpur erected a statue of black buck in honour of the animal that was killed by actor Salman Khan in 1998.

Source : Special Arrangement

Members of the Bishnoi community have erected the statue of a black buck in Rajasthan's Kankani village under Jodhpur district where actor Salman Khan was convicted of killing the animal revered by the community 26 years ago. 

The development comes as the actor is caught up at crosshair with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi who has vowed revenge on the actor for killing the animal on the intervening night of October 1 and 2 in 1998.

Notably, an alleged member of the gang has claimed responsibility for the recent murder of NCP leader Baba Siddique, with whom Salman had a close affinity. Earlier this year, a shooting took place outside Salman's Galaxy Apartments in Mumbai and Bishnoi has been suspect in that incident too. 

Recalling the night of the incident, a villager said: "There was much outrage within the community when we got to know about the incident and the members protested against it for seven days. We sat for five days with the carcass of the buck until the case was registered and Salman was arrested." 

He said the deer was buried seven days later. 

"For us animals are as important as humans, so when an animal dies we bury them as we do with humans," he added. 

On the threat by Lawrence Bishnoi, they said they would forgive him if he apologised to the community. "Lawrence is our child and the entire community is with him. False allegations have been levelled against him," they said. 

"Either the govt should punish him or he should apologise from the community," the villagers said. 

The Bishnoi clan is known for its active involvement with the flora and fauna of the Thar desert protecting the biodiversity. Guru Maharaj Jambaji founded the religion in 1485 AD in Marwar (Jodhpur). His reverence for nature eventually led the Bishnoi community to be known for cultivating lush vegetation, caring for animals, and collecting potable water.