2002 hit-and-run case: Witness says Salman Khan was driving during accident

Controversy’s favourite child Salman Khan may find himself in trouble again. According to reports, a witness testified against Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case today and told the court that it was the actor himself behind the wheel when his car rammed into a bakery in suburban Bandra (Mumbai) killing one person and injuring four others. The hearing in the case resumed after the missing documents — 63 original statements of the witnesses and case diaries — were found and placed before judge DW Deshpande. [caption id=“attachment_1749289” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Previously, the manager of a liquor bar in Juhu had identified Salman Khan in a Mumbai court, saying the actor had come to the restaurant with friends hours before his car was involved in an accident in 2002, but said he was not sure whether the Bollywood actor had taken drinks. The waiter of the bar also corroborated the manager’s version, saying that he remembers serving drinks to Khan’s table, but did not notice if he was drinking. The prosecution’s case is that the actor had taken drinks in “Rain Bar” along with his friends and was allegedly under the influence of liquor on 28 September, 2002 during the time of accident. The trial in the hit-and-run case had hit a roadblock in July when the court was informed that the original statements of the witnesses had disappeared. The court was again informed in August that case diaries relating to the case too were not traceable, inviting reprimand from the judge, who directed the police to locate the documents at the earliest for the trial to recommence. However, after repeated adjournments and admonition by the court over the missing statements of witnesses, the trial in the hit-and-run case against actor Salman Khan resumed on 24 September following production of the documents before a sessions court. Khan is facing the charge of running over his Toyota Land Cruiser on a group of persons sleeping on a footpath outside a bakery in suburban Bandra on 28 September, 2002, killing one and injuring four others and this is the first time someone has testified against him. The actor is facing the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder which attracts a 10-year sentence.