Mumbai, May 7: One of the eyewitnesses in Bollywood actor Salman Khan's hit-and-run case was allegedly offered a sum of Rs 5 lakh to turn hostile, an investigating officer (IO) told the sessions court on Tuesday.
After recording the testimonies of all three witnesses (Muslim Sheikh, Mannu Khan and Kalim Mohammed Shaikh), the investigating officer reportedly told the court that Muslim Sheikh got an offer of Rs 5 lakh from a lawyer identified as Mukesh Pandey to turn hostile.
According to the IO, Sheikh said in his statement that he received a call around 9.30 pm on Sunday, asking him to turn hostile, but he refused to comply.
But the lawyer has a different story to tell. "I worked free of cost to ensure the victims received the compensation amount. Muslim Sheikh got Rs 3 lakh, but he came to meet me last week after police brought the witnesses to the city for fresh deposition. He pleaded for more money, and I clearly told him that there was no scope for getting further compensation," English daily The Times of India has quoted Pandey as saying.
He further added that the police did not contact him in connection with the buy out allegation.
Meanwhile, another witness in 12-year-old case on Tuesday alleged that he was threatened. Initial reports suggest that an application has been moved to the court. The witness’ statement comes hours after he testified in court today that he saw the actor getting out of driver’s seat.
According to reports, the witness in the hit-and-run case reported to police in Bandra that he received threatening calls after he testified in court.
Three witnesses in the 2002 hit-and-run case identified Salman Khan in a sessions court on Tuesday, saying they had seen him getting down from the car which had met with an accident.
The witnesses were among the injured who were run over by the car in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002, when they were sleeping on a footpath near American Express Bakery.
All the three persons who deposed yesterday were workers of the Bakery, which was hit by the car. The prosecution has alleged the Toyota Land Cruiser involved in the incident was driven by Salman, who was under the influence of liquor.
While one witness said he saw the actor getting down from the front door on the right hand side, the other said he had seen Salman getting down from the driver's seat. Another witness said the actor got down from the vehicle, but could not remember from which side.
One person was killed and four people were injured in the incident after which the police booked Salman on the charge of rash and negligent driving and other charges. Recently, he was charged with an additional charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which attracts a 10-year sentence.
The court is conducting the retrial of the case following recent addition of the charge of culpable homicide. So far, four witnesses have deposed in the retrial. The prosecution led by Jagannath Kenjralkar would examine another three witnesses on May 19.
Earlier:
2002-hit-and-run-case-witness-identifies-salman-khan-as-getting-out-of-the-car-from-the-drivers-side
Mumbai, May 6: Actor Salman Khan has been identified by two of the prosecution witnesses in the 2002 hit and run case. Importantly one of the two said that he saw the actor exit the vehicle from the drivers side.
Salman Khan deposed before the court on Tuesday after his exemption expired on Monday.
The witnesses injured in the incident are Mohammed K Shaikh, Mohammed M Shaikh and Mamu Khan. Samba Gowda, who was the first witness to depose in the court earlier last week, 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.
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.
The case, dragging on for over a decade, had taken a twist earlier this year when the magistrate, after examining 17 witnesses, held that the charge of culpable homicide was made out against Salman and referred the matter to a sessions court, as cases under this offence are tried by a higher court.
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