Controversies
Legal troubles
On September 28, 2002, Salman was arrested for rash and negligent driving. His car had collided into a bakery in Mumbai; one person who was sleeping on the sidewalk outside the bakery died and three others were injured in the mishap. Charges of culpable homicide were laid against him, but later dropped, and he was found not guilty. However, he will still have to stand trial for a series of lesser charges pertaining to the incident.
On February 17, 2006, Khan was sentenced to one year in prison for hunting an endangered species, the Chinkara. The sentence was stayed by a higher court during appeal. On April 10, 2006, Salman was handed a five year jail term for hunting the endangered Chinkara. He was remanded to Jodhpur jail, and remained there until April 13, when he was granted bail. On August 24, 2007, the Jodhpur sessions court, upheld the 5 year jail term for Khan in the Chinkara poaching case by turning down his appeal against the 2006 judgement. At the time of the hearing, he was busy with a shooting elsewhere, while his sister attended the proceedings. Day after, he was placed under police arrest in Jodhpur after a Rajasthan court upheld a prison sentence passed upon him for poaching. On August 31, 2007, Khan was released on bail from the Jodhpur Central jail where he has spent six days.
Relationship troubles
His turbulent relationship with actress Aishwarya Rai was a well publicised topic in the Indian media, and had constantly filled gossip columns. After their break-up in March 2002, Rai accused him of harassing her. She claimed that Khan had not been able to come to terms with their break-up and was hounding her; her parents lodged a complaint against him.
In 2005, news outlets released what was said to be an illicit copy of a mobile phone call recorded in 2001 by the Mumbai police. It appeared to be a call in which he threatened his ex-girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai, in an effort to force her to appear at social events held by Mumbai crime figures. The call featured boasts of connections to organized crime and derogatory comments about other actors. However, the alleged tape was tested in the government's Forensic lab in Chandigarh, which concluded that it was fake.
Fatwas against Salman
In September 2007, a Muslim organisation issued a fatwa against Khan for attending a Ganesh puja. Stating that Islam prohibits idol worship, the organisation stated that unless Khan reads the kalmas - the declaration of faith, all over again, he will not be considered a Muslim. In addition to that, Khan celebrated the Ganesh Mahostav with his family in Bandra; they brought a Ganesh idol for one day for the sake of his stepmother, Helen. Khan was among the group who danced in the procession. His father responded by criticising the fatwa, and stated that Salman had done nothing wrong.
"These fatwas are becoming a joke".
The fatwa was raised upon Khan again in September 2008, for celebrating the Ganeshotsav Hindu ceremony at his home with the family. The fatwa was raised by the member of the Advisory Council, Jama Masjid, in New Delhi. On this occasion, his father, Salim, again questioned the fatwa and criticised those who raise it.
