News

Salman proved guilty : Sentenced to jail for 5 years in hit-and-run case

by IBNS 06 May 2015, 10:12 am

Mumbai, May 6 (IBNS) Bollywood megastar Salman Khan on Wednesday was sentenced to five years in jail after he was convicted by a Mumbai sessions court in connection with the 2002 hit-and-run case in which a pedestrian was crushed under the wheels of the SUV the actor was driving.

 All charges against him are proved.

Prosecution lawyer Abha Singh after the verdict told reporters: "He has been sentence to five years. We are happy because it gives the message that no one is above law in our country. We waited for it."

The 49-year-old actor faced charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Additional Sessions Judge DW Deshpande  pronounced his verdict in the case. The court told Salman that he was driving under the influence of liquor.

"All charges against you are proved," the judge told Salman before announcing the quantum of punishment.

Salman Khan was charged with killing one person and injuring four by ramming his SUV into a bakery shop in Bandra while driving 13 years ago.

One person, Nurullah Sharif, died in the accident and four were injured - Abdullah Shaikh, Muslim Shaikh, Munnu Khan and Mohammed Kalim.

As per law Khan should be sent to jail and not be entitled to bail from this court. He has to approach Bombay High Court for bail.

The prosecution claimed it has strong evidence that Salman Khan was drunk and driving back to his home in Bandra when he lost control of the car.

The prosecution also claimed that Salman fled the scene and did not inform the police as required by the law.

Begum Shaikh, Wife of the victim Nurullah Sharif, said after the verdict that said she had been waiting a long time for justice, adding: “We have gone through a lot of hardships.”

“Everything is so expensive and we hardly have any income. My kids are always under stress,” she told the CNN-IBN channel.

"I raised my son alone and there was no one to enquire about us. The Rs 10 lakh compensation was not enough in this inflationary times."

"I laboured to raise my children. They washed cars. I should get more compensation," she said.

Salman's advocate said his client has paid Rs 19 lakhs already as compensation to victims and would compensate more if ordered by the court.

The actor had claimed that it was his driver Ashok Singh who was behind the wheels at the time.

Ashok Singh, who was  only defence witness in the case, corroborated that version and told the court that the accident took place as the tyre burst and brake jammed.

Singh was into custody for making a false statement in the court and may be charged with perjury.

Giving a statement to the media ahead of the verdict, the public prosecutor in the case said, "Have tried our best. We have tried to bring the truth and placed all facts in front of the court. In coming hours court will pronounce it's verdict."

Salman, who was shooting in Kashmir for his film 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', returned to Mumbai on Monday for the verdict. Salman's friends and family members - Arpita Khan Sharma, Alvira and Atul Agnihotri, Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Salim Khan and Baba Siddiqui - were present with him at Bombay Sessions Court to extend their support.

On Tuesday evening a stream of visitors, including his family members, friends and even actor Shah Rukh Khan, who was not in talking terms with Salman for a long time, visited his Galaxy apartment.


As Salman was pronounced guilty and sentenced to jail,  #SalmanVerdict was the top trend on tweeter with nearly 20,000 tweets on the hashtag with many by Bollywood celebrities.

"Now is the time to be be truly human," tweets author Shobha De.

Actoress-turned Parliamentarian Hema Malini: "I am feeling bad about it. Whatever is the court decision, they will do. I pray for him and pray that his sentencing is not long."

"To expedite justice in our judicial system,country needs to debate the need for jury trial system which completes trial in less than a year," comments BJP leader and former top cop Kiran Bedi.

"Better late than never#SalmanVerdict Convicted," says author Ritu Lalit.

"love @BeingSalmanKhan I think he is a great human. But he will have to face the consequences if he has committed the crime," tweets Aarti Madan.

"No fan of Salman Khan, but this is the price of being in the public eye. Puru Rajkumar got away with paying Rs 30,000 for the same offence,"says blogger Rajyasree(Brown Sahib) on her page.


"Terrible news. Dnt knw wht to say except tht will stand by @BeingSalmanKhan no matter what. Hes a good man and no 1 can tk tht away frm him": actor Sonakshi Sinha.


"He is the man that saved my Mothers life. That I will never forget" : Dia Mirza.

"BeingSalmanKhan is the nicest human being in this business. Wish all our Prayers and love help him in this difficult time. Deeply saddened," says Bipasha Basu.

"I stand for the man who stands for everyone .. Always respect you big brother @BeingSalmanKhan your fans R with you" : King Mika Singh.

"Not commenting on courts verdict- but my heart goes out 2 @BeingSalmanKhan :large hearted & 1 of d finest people I hv met in this industry," says actor Ritiesh Deshmukh.

"My prayers are with @BeingSalmanKhan and his family who I know love this country and respect its judiciary," tweets Varun Suresh Dhawan.

The news hit the headlines in the foreign media as well as Time says : "Not unlike the Bollywood thrillers Khan is famous for, the hit-and-run case became a drawn-out saga full of murky details and dramatic twists. The 49-year-old son of actor and screenwriter Salim Khan has consistently denied allegations that he was behind the wheel of his Toyota Land Cruiser when it mounted the pavement in front of the American Express bakery in Mumbai’s Bandra locality on Sept. 28, 2002."

"Khan is a huge icon in India, and his 11.7 million Twitter followers make up only a fraction of his legions of fans across the South Asian nation. His films are known for being runaway hits at the box office, and his immense popularity has not been diminished by his repeated run-ins with the law."

"The 49-year-old looked stunned and tired as the sentence was read out, sinking into his chair as his family gathered around," the Guardian wrote.

The trial began in earnest last year after a series of court hearings and legal hold-ups. Several prosecution witnesses testified that Salman was driving the vehicle when it mounted the pavement and ploughed through the e men sleeping on the street.