Salman Khan’s hit-and-run case: Witnesses in the 13-year-long court drama

Ravindra Patil: He was Salman’s police bodyguard and was with him in the car when the mishap occurred. In a statement before the Magistrate, Patil said Salman was driving the car at top speed after taking drinks. Salman’s lawyer objected to his statement being taken on record, as he passed away in 2007 and was therefore not available for cross-examination. He is also the complainant in this case.

Malay Bag: He was the barman at Rain Bar in suburban Juhu where the actor had gone out with friends, hours before the incident. He said he had served Barcardi (White Rum), cocktails and chicken, prawns and snacks to the group of Salman. Another witness, the bar manager said Salman was holding a glass with white colour liquid. The defence team argued that the white colour liquid was ‘water’ and not ‘Bacardi Rum’ as claimed by the prosecution.

Francis Fernandes: He is Salman’s friend and neighbour. The actor calls him Commander. A resident of Hill Road where the accident took place, Fernandes told the court that he had helped Salman get away from the scene after the actor told him “Commander Save me”. However, the defence team argued that Salman had asked him to save the injured persons trapped under the car..

Ramsare Pande: He owned a dairy at Hill Road at the accident spot. He had seen Salman getting down from the right side of the car. However, Salman’s lawyer argued that the left door of the car got jammed in the mishap and hence the actor got down from the right side. The witness also testified that the front left tyre of the car had burst and he saw Salman and his singer friend moving away from the accident spot.

Kalpesh Verma: He was the parking attendant at J W Hotel where the actor had gone before the incident. Verma had handed over the car to Salman from the parking lot and had seen the actor occupying the driver’s seat. However, Salman’s lawyer argued that the actor was waiting for driver Ashok Singh to arrive as he had to relieve another driver Altaf.

Muslim Shaikh: (Hostile) He told the court that on the day of the accident, he was sleeping along with some Bakery workers outside the shop when suddenly he found himself underneath the car. He also claimed that he saw Salman getting down from the right-hand side door of the car. However, before a Magistrate earlier, he denied seeing the actor getting down from the right side. Hence, he was declared hostile.

Manu Khan: This witness had sustained injuries on his right leg. He told the court that there were three people in the car and the actor got down from the driver’s side of the car. He also said “Salman was so drunk that he fell down after getting out. He tried to stand up but fell down again. Then, he ran away.”

Defence Witness

Ashok Singh: He was examined by Salman’s lawyer. He told the court that he and not Salman was driving the car at the time of the accident.

The driver, who appeared in the court for the first time, 13 years after the accident, said he was working with Salman’s family for the past 22 years. However, the prosecution claimed that Singh was lying and had deposed only to save the actor.

Salman Khan: Although he is an accused, he deposed before the court to give his version about the case at the fag end of trial as stipulated under section 313 of CrPC. Salman said he was not driving the car and that Singh was behind the wheel.

The actor also said that he had to get down from the right-hand side of the car because its left door had got jammed. He also denied that he was drunk and refuted allegations that he ran away from the spot. He said he was there for about 15 minutes and before leaving the place he had told his driver to help the injured.