The prosecution's case in the hit-and-run case involving Bollywood star Salman Khan has received a boost with an eyewitness telling the trial court that the actor drove rashly on September 28, 2002, killing one and injuring four when his car rammed into a bakery.
The witness, Ravindra Patil, who was accompanying Salman as police bodyguard in the same car that met with the mishap, told the suburban Bandra magistrate that he had warned the actor not to drive rashly or he would meet with an accident but Khan ignored his advice.
The examination of the witness has concluded in the trial court and Salman's lawyer Dipesh Mehta is all set to cross-examine him on January 19.
"We shall grill Patil on January 19 and seek to demolish his claim about cautioning Salman", Mehta told PTI.
The trial in the case began early this month, after the Supreme Court dismissed Salman's plea seeking in-camera proceedings during the examination of key eye witness Ravindra Patil.
The actor moved the Supreme Court as the High Court had earlier dismissed his plea for in-camera trial.
Earlier, Patil did not appear before the trial court as witness and a non-bailable warrant was issued against him. Later, Patil alleged in a section of media that he had received threats from certain quarters at the behest of the actor.
Patil's deposition is considered significant because he is not only an eyewitness but also the complainant in this case, legal sources told PTI.
According to police, after Salman had met with the accident, he ran away from the scene of crime and Patil had called police. Later, the actor surrendered and was arrested by Bandra police after a case was registered against him.
A sessions court had, in May 2003, framed charges against Salman holding that he was prima facie guilty of culpable
homicide not amounting to murder. The actor had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In the case, the actor has been charged with section 279 IPC (causing death of Noorulla Mahboob Sharif by negligence), section 338 IPC (causing grievous hurt to 17-year-old Abdul Rauf Shaikh), section 337 IPC (causing hurt to Kalim Mohammed Pathan and Munna Malai Khan), section 427 IPC (damaging property), section 134(A)(B) read with section 187 of Motor Vehicles Act, section 3 read with section 181 of the same Act (driving without licence), section 185 (driving under the influence of liquor), section 65 and section 66(i)(b) of the Bombay Prohibition Act.