Salman Khan hit-and-run case: Two witnesses identify actor in court

Mumbai: Bollywood actor Salman Khan might be basking in success with appreciation for his upcoming film ‘Kick’ but legal troubles are back to haunt him. Salman Khan appeared in court on Monday for the hearing of hit-and-run case of 2002. Two witnesses have identified the actor.

Ramashree Pandey, who owns a dairy shop near the American Bakery when Salman's car had met with an accident, said he saw the actor getting down from the front seat of the vehicle.

Salman's bodyguard Ravindra Patil (now dead), was already standing outside, he said. "I saw people running towards the bakery and heard their shouts, "accident hua hai -- hua hai" (accident has happened). My shop is located close to the American Bakery where people sleep on the footpath in the night," Pandey said.

"When I reached the accident spot, about 50 to 60 people had gathered there. Some people were beneath the car and I could hear their voices crying for help," he said.

The left front door of car was stuck in the shutter of laundry which could not be opened as it was jammed. People were trying to pull the car from the other front door. There was hue and cry on the spot and people around were in an angry mood. They got violent and started throwing stones at the car, Pandey said in reply to a question.

"I was standing 15 feet away from the car. I saw Salman getting down from the car. There was no one else sitting on the front side of the car after Salman moved out from car," the witness further said.

"I saw only one man coming out from the front side of the car and he was Salman. At that time, his bodyguard, Ravindra Patil was standing outside, said Pandey. Later, police was called and a crane lifted the car from the spot. The injured were sitting near the place of accident. People had pulled out the car from the spot but Salman was not present when this was being done, Pandey said

The prosecution witness identified the actor and said he saw him getting out of the car after the accident.

Second witness, a bar owner also testified in court saying that drinks were served at the table occupied by Salman and his friends on the night of the hit-and-run.

Three eyewitnesses had reportedly testified before the court and identified the actor, last month. The 48-year-old actor was seen by these two witnesses getting out of his car on that fateful day. Salman Khan could face prison up to 10 years if convicted.

Read: Salman wasn't drunk as he didn't smell of alcohol: witness

On May 6, one of the prosecution witnesses in the 2002 hit and run case identified him as the person who had exited from car in a drunk state and escaped from the mishap site.

Samba Gowda, who was the first witness to depose in the court, had said he had drawn a panchnama of the articles seized by police on the day of the incident on September 28, 2002.

The witness had told prosecutor Jagannath Kenjalkar that it was a big car involved in the accident and said police had reached the spot along with him.

He had said the car had rammed into a laundry and its bumper had hit the shutter of the shop.

The actor is accused of culpabale homicide not amounting to murder after he drove his SUV on to a pavement in Bandra, killing one person and leaving four injured.

Read: Bombay HC stops TV channels from showing Salman's Hit-and-Run case

On December 5 last year, the court had ordered a fresh trial on the ground that the witnesses had not been examined in the context of aggravated charge of culpable homicide, which was invoked against the actor midway through the case.

The charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder attracts a 10-year sentence. The actor had earlier been tried by a magistrate for a lesser offence of causing death by negligence, which entailed an imprisonment of two years.

So far, 17 witnesses have been examined in connection with the 12-year-old case.

Read: Waiter identifies Salman Khan, says he served drinks to his group