Salman Khan's driver a dummy witness in 2002 Hit-And-Run case; court urged to reject his claim

Mumbai, April 1: After Bollywood actor Salman Khan's driver surprised everyone by saying that he was driving the car on the day of the 'hit and run mishap', the prosecution in Salman Khan's 2002 case on Wednesday made a plea before the court to reject the claim of the the driver. that

Resuming the final arguments in the ongoing re-trial of Salman Khan in the case, public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat told Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande that in 13 years, the presence of a fourth person in the vehicle at the time of the accident on September 28, 2002 never came up.

Moreover, questioning Salman Khan's driver Ashok Singh's statements last Monday, in which he spoke of a burst tyre and losing control over the vehicle, Gharat argued that the Toyota Land Cruiser is a sophisticated, modern vehicle which would have indicated about any problem to the driver.

Accordingly, the prosecutor contended that it was difficult to believe the driver's version on the accident and it must be rejected by the court.

In a major development in the accident trial, driver Singh told Sessions Judge Deshpande last Monday that he was at the wheel of the SUV, which was not speeding, when its tyre burst, the car moved to the left side and he lost control.

Although he tried hard to apply the brakes, the vehicle had already climbed the steps of the American Express Bakery, resulting in the death of a sleeping pavement dweller and injuring four others, Singh told the court.

After Gharat's arguments are completed, the defence (Salman Khan's) lawyer Shrikant Shivade will start his arguments in the case.

Salman Khan's driver Ashok Singh surprised everyone with his statement in a court in Mumbai on Monday, March 30. 13 years after the infamous hit-and-run case, Singh for the first time claimed that it was he who was driving the car on Sept 28, 2002.

Singh, while taking questions from the lawyer of the prosecution, said, "I was driving the SUV when the tyre burst and the brake jammed. The car went over the steps. I saw that people were trapped beneath."

"I got out of the right side and Salman too got out of the right side as the left door was jammed," said Singh who also claimed that he along with Salman had tried to lift the car after it had hit the pavement.

This was a fresh trial which was being held in a sessions court after a Magistrate added the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder which lays down punishment up to ten years.

OneIndia News

(With inputs from agencies)