Salman Khan faces fan fury in India and Pakistan after he tweets supporting Yakub Memon

Salman Khan faces boycott threats after he opposes Yakub Memon's death sentence .

Staff Correspondent, July 26, 2015

Bollywood star Salman Khan walked into a huge controversy on Sunday after he posted a series of tweets protesting the scheduled hanging of Yakub Memon.

In a gist, Salman Khan said India was hanging the wrong brother, Yakub Khan, while the real guilty was Tiger Memon.

Ridiculing Tiger Memon as a cat, Salman Khan lamented that India could not catch even that small animal.

Salman Khan's tweets flared up an instant response in India as many tweeple went into attack mode slamming his support to a convicted terrorist. Some of them recalled Salman Khan's own difficult encounters with the law and said he was supporting a fellow criminal.

 A few of them threatened to boycott Salman Khan movies; one person said  he was cancelling his Sunday plan to watch Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Salman Khan's latest movie, which has been received on both sides of the border as a message of peace.

Celebrities in India refrain commenting on controversial issues. A few weeks ago Amitabh Bachchan had feigned ignorance that Maharashtra had banned beef in an interview with Arnab Goswami.  Amitabh Bachchan said celebrities avoided controversy as they were vulnerable to attacks.

Salman Khan said he had been thinking of tweeting about Yakub Memon for the past three days but was worried about the backlash. He says he went ahead and made his opinion public as it affected a family.

Salman Khan tweets became controversial in Pakistan as well. In one tweet,  he appealed to PM Sharif to return Tiger Memon to India, which many took as an anti-Pakistan stand in that country.

Yakub Memon's death sentence has been a controversy as many believe  that he came back on his own and cooperated with Indian agencies, and hence requires leniency.  The late RAW officer, B Raman, who brought back Yakub Memon to India, has written that  hanging Yakub Memon would be a travesty of justice.

Fans threaten boycott after Salman Khan supports Yakub Memon

Today only I was gng 2 book tickets of bajrangi bhaijan for my cousin But after ur yakub tweet dil se utar gaye bhai tum:(@BeingSalmanKhan

— SHARMA Ji (@Yogesh_Sharma_G) July 26, 2015

#BoycottSalmanKhan for supporting terrorist #Yakub

— Office of NavSingh (@OnlySinghLion) July 26, 2015

Arrest the family of Yakub Menon too as they were a part of ISI planning ,They spent many years with ISI

— Protestor (@Shivam_Pandey09) July 26, 2015

Those Who Are Saying Salman Is Doing This bcoz Yakub is Muslim Then Dnt Forget His Mother Is Hindu. Dnt Be A Chutiya

— Salman's Devotee (@SalmansDevotee) July 26, 2015

@BeingSalmanKhan hang to salman with yakub as well

— AmarSingh (@Singhamar601) July 26, 2015

@BeingSalmamKhan Khan , u never spoke a single word for #Bombay_Blast victims but now crying for #Yakub, Shame On You Salman...

— Vimal Kreshnan (@VimalKreshnan) July 26, 2015

@ZeeNews salman don't see YAKUB crime,as he is also a criminal - killed people. ungenuine bail, paid news & Advt made him feel above SC

— Ajay (@akm_7799) July 26, 2015

Guys do not watch #bajrangibhaijaan bcse @BeingSalmanKhan became terrorist #yakub sympathiser.

— Pramod Chaudhari (@PgChaudhari) July 26, 2015

Any one who is involved in terrorism be it Yakub or somebody else, regardless of Religion they should be given toughest possible punishment

— Navin Tyagi (@navin_inet) July 26, 2015

@BeingSalmanKhan what about The 350 people . Is yakub meman is innocents then all the isis people are innocents तुमसे ये आशा नही थी ।

— Rakesh jatwa (@rakesh_jatwa) July 26, 2015

@BeingSalmanKhan save Yakub memmon.. love u salman..

— Ayesha (@AyeshaAk73) July 26, 2015

@BeingSalmanKhan : Arre Bhai log ye saare tweet maine nahi mere driver ne kiye hain #Yakub

— Manoj Kumar (@manoj15686) July 26, 2015

In real life, Bhai would instead take Yakub Memon across the border to Pakistan to reunite him with his family. https://t.co/SuorSlanNt

— Ranjith Pasam (@itsranjithpasam) July 26, 2015

Instead of rembering jawans on Kargil diwas, people are busy justifying why Yakub Menon should not be hanged? Pity ..insult to supreme court

— Deepak naik (@DGNaik) July 26, 2015

Dear @falamb3 Bhai, Kindly ask @BeingSalmanKhan to delete his anti-Pak tweets or we demand your resignation! pic.twitter.com/rJSjfIw6HZ

— Farhan Khan Virk (@FarhanKVirk) July 25, 2015

Tweets by Salman Khan  in support of Yakub Memon