Witness says Salman had consumed alcohol on day of accident

Mumbai, May 4 (UNI) In an interesting development in the hit-and-run case involving Bollywood actor Salman Khan, a key witness today confirmed before the court that Salman and his friends had consumed alocohol on the night of the incident.

Deposing before additional chief metropolitan magistrate J B Pankhe, the manager of a bar in Bandra Rizwan Khan, during his examination-in-chief, said on September 28, 2002 around 2230 hrs, Salman Khan, his brother Sohail, and a group of friends had ordered drinks and were consuming liquor.

The deposition of this witness will be considered a significant development in this case which will enable the prosecution to prove its case that actor was drunk when he was arrested after causing the accident.

Salman is accused of driving a vehicle in an inebriated condition on September 28, 2002, when he lost control and ran over five persons sleeping outside a bakery in suburban Bandra, killing one and injuring four.

Initially, Salman Khan was booked under section 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code for negligent driving.

But, later, the prosecution had moved the court for an alteration of the charges. The charges were, subsequently, modified and the trials into the case had commenced in Metropolitan Court at Bandra.

UNI