Sharmila Mishra
MAJOR setback for bollywood actor Salman Khan. On May 6, two witnesses identified Salman Khan in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run-case. If convicted, Khan could face a jail sentence of up to 10 years.
47-year-old Khan is facing the charge of running his SUV over five people sleeping on a footpath outside a bakery in suburban Bandra, around 2am on September 28, 2002, killing one and injuring four others.
On Tuesday, one witness told the court that Salman Khan was so drunk. He got down from the driver’s side. He fell down, then got up and ran away from the spot. The witness, who hails from Karnataka, told the court that a “big car” was involved in the accident and police had reached the scene along with him.
On March 14, 2011, the prosecution had sought revising the charges from section 304-A of the IPC (causing death by negligence) to Section 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder). In December, court ordered a fresh trial for Khan.
The revised section attracts a maximum punishment of 10 years as against the earlier section, which provided for a jail term of maximum of two years.
Salman Khan was present for the hearing in court. He was accompanied to the court by sisters Alvira and Arpita.
In 1998, Mr Khan spent a few days in prison for killing blackbuck deer, an endangered species, in Rajasthan.