Dramatic new turn in hit-and-run case.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: The hit-and-run case involving Bollywood superstar Salman Khan took yet another dramatic turn in the trial court today as the prosecution, taking into account key witness statements, accused the actor of running away from the scene without extending a helping hand to the victims of the accident.
The accident happened on the night of September 28, 2002, when Salman Khan’s Land Cruiser SUV rammed into a roadside bakery killing one and injuring four others who were sleeping outside, in Mumbai. Even as Khan says that the car was driven by his driver, the prosecution accuses him of driving the car without a proper license, that too under the influence of alcohol and causing an avoidable mishap.
According to the prosecutor, Pradeep Gharat, soon after the accident, the spot, which is close by Salman’s residence, was surrounded by an angry mob that carried stones and rods in their hands. Seeing the situation getting worse, Francis Fernandez, who is a close friend of the actor whom he addresses as “Commander”, asked him to take his wife’s car and leave the spot.
Gharat told the trial court while examining the evidence of Fernandez that Salman, soon after the accident, called out desperately, “Commander, save me”, to which Fernandez advised him to scoot from the scene as the mob might get even angrier and result in harming the Bollywood star.
Gharat said, “The actor ran away from the spot and did not help the victims by taking them to hospital.”
That said, Salman in a statement under Section 313 of CrPC, had earlier denied the charges of running away from the accident scene and told the court that his driver Ashok Singh, who was driving the car on that fateful day, was instructed to inform the police and to carry the injured to the hospital. Khan confessed that 15 minutes after the accident, on the advice of his friend, he left the spot.
According to the prosecutor, the immediate conduct of Salman reflects his guilt for driving the car and, therefore, he ran away from the spot without bothering to help the accident victims.
Meanwhile, the actor was not present for today’s hearing as he informed the court that he had to go for a film shoot in Udaipur. Salman came to the court early in the morning to move a plea seeking exemption from today’s hearing. The court gave the actor the permission to skip today’s hearing.