The statements made against Bollywood superstar Salman Khan by a neighbour appear to be supported by "documentary evidence", a civil court has said here. The court last week refused interim relief to Khan who has filed a defamation case against his Panvel farmhouse neighbor Ketan Kakkad. In 2019, Kakkad had alleged that the Khan family had 'barred his entry to his property' which is a small plot, next to the Khan family's 100-acre Arpita Farms. Kakkad claimed that he had bought the plot in 1996. The two neighbours shared cordial relations until the whole row erupted.
"Despite repeated pleas, we are not allowed to go there... The local officials of the Forest and Revenue departments are also not helping us out," Kakkad had said in 2019. He then expressed his anger on social media and also gave some interviews on YouTube. On the other hand, Salman Khan had claimed that Kakkad's allotment was cancelled by the forest department but the NRI is now blaming him and his family. Responding to Kakkad's social media posts and interviews, Salman Khan hit with a stern Short Cause Suit on January 8, accusing Kakkad and others of "malafide intentions" to damage his goodwill and reputation by hurling "absolutely baseless, false and unwarranted allegations."