Mumbai: Bollywood on Wednesday stood by Salman Khan after he was pronounced guilty in the 2002 hit-and-run case but two of its celebrities courted a controversy for targeting the homeless while coming out in support of the superstar.
The Bollywood fraternity including Hema Malini, Subhash Ghai, Anil Sharma and Riteish Deshmukh did not want to get into the merit of the court verdict but said their prayers are with the 49-year-old Khan.
Read: Salman Khan awarded 5-year jail in 2002 hit-and-run case
The court, while convicting the hugely popular actor, upheld the prosecution's contention that he was at the wheel when his Toyota Land Cruiser ran over five people sleeping on the pavement outside American Express bakery on September 28, 2002 in suburban Bandra, killing one person and injuring four others. It also sentenced him to five years in person.
Read: You were drunk and did not possess a valid driving licence: Court
Members of the film industry said it was a “sad moment” for Salman, calling him a “simple and real” man and that he was the most helpful man in the industry.
However, the tweets by singer Abhijeet and jewellery designer and Salman’s friend Farah Ali Khan in which they sought to blame the homeless for the star’s plight with comments like footpaths are not for sleeping triggered a controversy and they were trolled on the social media. Their comments were described as “insensitive”.
Read: Salman Khan impassive; victims want money
Abhijeet in a series of tweets said,
Come out fraternity, support @BeingSalmanKhan boldly not hypocriticly Roads footpath r not meant 4 sleeping, not driver's or alcohol's fault
— abhijeet (@abhijeetsinger) May 6, 2015Mumbai ke road Aur footpath pe sone ka shauk hai ?? Y not at your village no vehicles to kill u.. Support @BeingSalmanKhan @sonakshisinha
— abhijeet (@abhijeetsinger) May 6, 2015Suicide is crime so is sleeping on footpath..80% homeles film ppl strugld achievd stardom but never slept on footpath @BeingSalmanKhan
— abhijeet (@abhijeetsinger) May 6, 2015Likewise, Farah also took to Twitter in targeting the government and the homeless and also drew analogies between people sleeping on the footpath and people crossing the railway tracks.
Read: Experts say Salman Khan's bail by Bombay High Court justified
“The govt should be responsible for housing ppl.If no 1 was sleeping on d road in any other country Salman wuld not have driven over anybody,” she tweeted.
