Victims: No hard feelings for Salman but...

“Compensation matters more than conviction,” say the victims of the 2002 hit-and-run case in which Bollywood star Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in jail.

Abdullah Rauf Shaikh, who lost a leg in the accident, said, “Nobody came to visit me in the last 13 years. I am forced to do petty jobs to support my family and face a lot of problems.”

“However, I have no hard feelings for him (Salman). I still watch his movies,” he said, adding they were not pressurised by anyone.

“Compensation matters more than conviction, my health and work suffered,” Shaikh said.

“If Salman is punished, I will not be benefited in any way as neither my leg will heal nor will my problems would go away. Instead if they compensate us then we do not have any problem,” he said, recalling that he was 22 when he lost his leg in the incident.

The wife of Nurullah Mehboob Sharif, who died in the accident, said, “We were told we will get a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, but what will we do of that amount at this time of inflation.”

She said that she would be benefited if her son gets a job.

Another of the injured Kalim Mohammad Pathan, who had shifted to his village in Uttar Pradesh after the tragedy, said he was more concerned about award of compensation to the victims than the quantum of punishment to the actor.

“Our stomach cannot be filled if he (Salman) gets bigger punishment. We want adequate compensation as we hardly have anything to do in our village,” he said.

Image: One of the victims, who lost his leg in the 2002 hit-and-run incident. Photograph: ANI/Twitter