Three hours and 418 questions later, actor Salman Khan left The City Civil And Sessions Court building in Mumbai, signing two sets of documents that contained his responses to the evidence and witness statements adduced against him in the 2002 hit-and-run case today.
The 49-year old actor described the evidences and most statements made by the witnesses as false.
Before the trial could begin, the Judge asked the media members present in the court room No 52, not to report the the accused’s statement until it concludes. The court also restrained the media from telecasting or broadcasting panel discussions or interviews of personalities on the merits or demerits of the case, following an application by the defence lawyer, Srikant Shivade.
The Bollywood star claimed in the court that he was not on the driving seat when his SUV ran over five people on September 28, 2002, injuring four and killing one, in the thick of the night. However, he admitted that he came out of his car from the drivers side because the other side where he was seated was jammed since the car had run into the American Express laundrys shutter.
The Kick actor said that his driver Ashok Singh, who had come in as a replacement for his driver Altaf, had driven him, his bodyguard Ravindra Patil (also a cop, now deceased) and his friend Kamal Khan from JW Mariott Hotel, Juhu, that night. He denied the prosecutions charges that he had consumed alcohol before the mishap. He even stated in Judge D W Deshpandes court that the reports stating that alcohol was found in his blood were false.
Salman had been summoned to make his statement under section 313 of Cr.Pc on the evidence cited against him. The current trial is a fresh one after Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate V S Patil added the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which if found guilty for, lays down punishment upto ten years.
Salmans car had run into a bakery in near St Andrews Church in Bandra. The victims were sleeping on the pavement outside when the incident took place. When the judge asked the actor at the end of the question-answer session what he had to say about the case and the statements made by the witnesses against him, all he said is, “I would like the defence witnesses to be examined.”
Salman, when asked about his visit to the Rain Bar with his brother Sohail and his friend Kamal, and consumption of alcohol at the said venue, he said he was having a glass of water at the bar and the bills submitted by the defence were false. He also asserted that Bala Shankar, who had tested his blood sample in Sir JJ Hospital, was not an expert.
He was responding to deposition of this witness who had told the court that 62mg alcohol was found in his blood sample, which was above the permissible limit, hinting that he had consumed drinks before the mishap. The actor told the Judge that the chemical analysis expert, while testing his blood sample, had allegedly not followed the prescribed procedures.
Towards the fag end of the hearing, he was shown three photographs of the spot where his car had met with the accident and he identified them.
It is true I was sitting on drivers seat in the car at the parking lot of J W Marriot hotel. But I was waiting for my driver Ashok Singh and as soon as he arrived, I vacated the seat, he said in response to the deposition of a hotel staff member who had seen him on the drivers seat before he left the premises of the hotel.
To another question, Salman said that his then bodyguard Ravindra Patil was not the eye witness to the mishap as claimed by the prosecution. At that time, he was sleeping. Its false that I was driving at a great speed of 90 to 100 kms per hour and also not true that I could not control the vehicle at that speed and hence met with an accident. In fact, I was not driving, he stated.
Salman also denied that he had fled the spot soon after the mishap. I was there at least for 15 minutes and had told my driver to inform the police and help the injured in getting admitted to the hospital, he said.
Salman cleared that his neighbour Francis had reached the spot and had advised him to go away as a mob had gathered and it could have turned aggressive. On his advice, he left the scene. Khan stated that he was not arrested by the police from an advocates place in Bandra. Instead, he had surrendered before the cops a few hours post the mishap.
With the respect to his driving license, the superstar denied the prosecutions claims that he didnt have a relevant license at that time. He was shown the extract of the Andheri RTO offices records showing that he had obtained a licence only in 2004, two years after the mishap. The actor stated that though his address and name were correct, it was not correct to say that this was the first ever license he had been issued.
Salmans statement concluded today and the defence witnesses will be examined from March 30 onward.
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