As his remarks on Yakub Memon sparked a furore, Bollywood actor Salman Khan today retracted them and offered an unconditional apology, saying he never implied that the 1993 Mumbai blasts case convict was innocent.
The 49-year-old superstar, no stranger to controversies, said he had complete faith in the judicial system of the country.
“I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally.
“I have not said or implied that Yakub Memon is innocent. I have complete faith in the judicial system of our country,” the actor tweeted after his remarks triggered criticism and protests.
In a series of six tweets, Salman tried to put a lid on the row generated by his remarks in defence of Memon, sentenced to death in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
In his first tweet, he said, “I had tweeted that Tiger Memon (a prime suspect in the blasts case) should hang for his crimes and I stand by it. What i also said is that Yakub Memon should not hang for him.”
“I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti-religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will,” read his second tweet.
His controversial tweets were posted in the wee hours of the day.
One of them read “Get Tiger (Memon) hang him. Parade him not his brother (Yakub). Another said “1 innocent man killed is killing the humanity.”
Later in the day, Salman said he was withdrawing his tweets on the advise of his father, scriptwriter Salim Khan.
“My dad called & said I should retract my tweets as they have the potential to create misunderstanding. I here by retract them,” said the actor.
