Late one September night, Salman Khan's car ploughed into a bakery and ran into five people sleeping in the street - killing one homeless man. In the 13 years since, he's protested his innocence, but on Wednesday a judge found him guilty of culpable homicide and sent him to jail for five years.

Malini Agarwal, a celebrity blogger who goes by the name MissMalini, says that while some were supporting the actor just to get attention (the hashtag #WeLoveSalmanKhan has about 1,000 tweets) many of Khan's defenders are also his friends.

"People who know Salman have said that he's generous and has a huge heart. I believe that's true. But sadly that doesn't change what he did 13 years ago," she says. Agarwal also points to the length of the case - the incident happened in 2002 - and says Khan's reputation has been somewhat rehabilitated in the meantime.

"He seems to have become a changed man - he's not as brash as he used to be, and he hasn't really gotten into any serious trouble for a long time," Agarwal says, noting that the star set up a foundation, Being Human, which supports health care and education programmes for the poor.

Some commentators stressed that they weren't condoning the crime. Bollywood star Dia Mirza, who has appeared on screen with Khan, said: "He is the man that saved my Mothers life" - and quickly followed up by saying: "My previous tweet was NOT a comment on the proceedings of the verdict. It was an emotional confession of a grateful friend." Actress Alia Bhatt commented: "It hurts when your own are punished, even if they are in the wrong. We love you and are standing by you".

Agarwal says the verdict prompted mixed reactions across the country. "Personally, I had mixed feelings when I heard the news of the verdict, because it's been so long and I'm a fan like so many others but if you commit the crime you have to do the time." she says. "But frankly it's unfortunate that in our country this happens so often. We've become desensitised to poverty, corruption and crime. So it feels a little hollow that so many other crimes go unpunished and now there's a media circus about this one. But I suppose that at least in this case there was a verdict, even if it did happen 13 years later."

Source: BBC News