Salman Khan hit-and-run case: If guilty, he faces 10 years in prison

May 5, 2015

Mumbai, May 5: Bollywood star Salman Khan, known for his bulging biceps and off-camera temper tantrums, faces jail this week if convicted of drunkenly driving over sleeping homeless men 12 years ago, killing one of them.

Salman Khan caseKhan, star of blockbusters Bodyguard and Dabangg, is accused of losing control of his SUV after a night of drinking rum and cocktails at an upmarket bar in Mumbai in 2002 and fleeing the scene.

After years of court hearings and legal hold-ups, a judge in Mumbai is on Wednesday finally expected to hand down his verdict on the 49-year-old actor on charges of culpable homicide.

Khan faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty following a trial whose every twist has been followed by the country's media.

Public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said he had presented the case as best he could to the Bombay sessions court judge, adding "we can only hope but cannot predict" a conviction.

"I am 100% confident that I have done my job and duty to the best of my ability," Gharat said on Monday.

Khan pleaded not guilty at trial, saying his driver was responsible for the late night crash in which his Toyota Land Cruiser mounted the pavement where five men were sleeping outside a bakery in the upmarket suburb of Bandra West.

A constable attached to Khan's security detail said in his statement to police that the drunk actor lost control of the car while driving at about 90 kilometres an hour.

"The people were sleeping on the footpath. Salman and (his cousin) Kamaal ran away from the spot," the constable, who died in 2007 of tuberculosis, said.

One of the sleeping labourers injured in the accident said in his statement that "Salman was so drunk he fell. He stood but he fell again and then he... ran away."

But Khan's lawyers said the action and romantic comedy star had in fact been drinking water all evening and had climbed out of the driver's seat after the accident because the passenger side door had been damaged.

They also said the homeless man was killed during an operation to move the car, rather than the crash itself, when the bumper fell off and landed on him.

Finally, last month, his driver took the stand and said he crashed after the front left tyre burst, making steering and braking difficult.

Body-building bachelor

Khan, the son of a respected film writer, has starred in more than 100 films and television shows since his first hit, Maine Pyar Kiya (I Fell in Love) in the 1980s.

But the body-building actor is no stranger to controversy off screen and in 1998 he spent more than a week in prison for killing endangered Indian gazelles.

Khan, who has never married, has also been in the news over the years, including for allegedly assaulting former Miss World and Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai with whom he had a long relationship.

Observers said given his big fan base, Khan was likely to continue on with his career even if he was found guilty, so long as he avoided a lengthy jail term.

"If he gets a brief term, given his fan following it will be easy for him to rebound," film critic BB Nagpal said. "But certainly 10 years will put a full stop on his career."

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News Network
March 21,2020

Mar 21: Singer Sonu Nigam has decided to extend his stay in Dubai as he believes travelling amid the coronavirus outbreak can put people around him at risk.

The singer was in the Himalayas earlier and wanted to come to Mumbai for a concert scheduled for March 6 but it got postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

He then decided to head to Dubai to be with his wife and son and has been there since a few weeks.

"I am fortunate that my wife and my son are in Dubai. My son studies here and I keep travelling here a lot, Dubai is like my second base. But my father, sister are alone in India. I wanted to come back to India and be at my father's side but I realised that if I do that, I'll be exposing him to the risk of me carrying this virus, who knows the extent of the danger," Sonu told

The 46-year-old singer said everybody is taking precautions and he wants to ensure that the health of those around him isn't at risk.

"I thought let's not outsmart the virus. I thought it's better for me to stay for a bit (till things go normal). Coming back to India, and then going in quarantine will still be a risk.

"I came to Dubai and I thought I'll be able to go back to India but I didn't know it's going to be such an issue eventually. But we are fine here."

On Friday, singer Kanika Kapoor become the first Bollywood celebrity to test positive for the deadly virus in the country and has said she is under complete quarantine and medical care.

The UP police later booked the singer for negligence and committing acts that are likely to spread disease dangerous to life after she attended at least three gatherings in Lucknow, including a party where political leaders were present.

When asked if his decision of staying back was in anyway related to what happened to Kanika, Sonu said that wasn't the case.

"The last time I was contemplating coming to India was on March 16 night, but thankfully my flight got cancelled. Then from March 17, there was this regulation from the government of India that you have to go on a self quarantine for 14 days, compulsorily. I decided I shouldn't take a chance. Being a potential carrier is the worst thing," he said

In Dubai, the singer said the family is taking extreme precautions.

"We all are being safe, staying indoors, not gathering with many people. Careless people shouldn't be around you at this point, people who are too brash, that 'oh nothing will happen.' I don't allow such people in my vicinity. I'm.very hygiene conscious anyway." said the singer.

Sonu said he will be conducting a live music concert on his social media on Sunday.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Los Angeles, Jan 9: Actors Salma Hayek and Tiffany Haddish are hopeful about the future for women in Hollywood and now cinema is making films about women because the audience was "neglected".

The duo along with Rose Byrne star in Like a Boss, a comedy directed by Miguel Arteta, which follows best friends Mia and Mel (Haddish and Byrne) who join forces to run their own boutique cosmetics company.

When the prospect of a big buyout offer from a notorious titan of the beauty industry (Hayek) tempts them, their lifelong bond - and their business - is put in jeopardy.

Hayek said she is happy with the increase in female-driven films in Hollywood.

"We're on the right path. And we're not going to stop," the actor told Variety.

"What I can tell you is that a lot more women are directing and acting and writing and producing. And there are a lot more movies made about women and for women because the audience was neglected, she said.

She was speaking at the premiere of the film in New York.

Haddish added that the mantle for change shouldn't be left to the traditional decision-makers.

To get things, one has to sometimes make noise, the actor-author said.

"It's about us putting in the work and creating the projects and creating the opportunities in order to do those things to make it better. I sit back and I listen to people talk sometimes, saying, 'They're not letting us; they're not giving it to us.' Why do we have to ask permission? Why can't we just start putting it together? If they want to come on board with it, come on board. And if not, oh well," Haddish said.

"I'm about creating an opportunity. People say I'm loud and obnoxious, but sometimes it’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil and gets things done," she added.

The comedy comes on the heels of a year gone by in cinema that featured female protagonists in films like Little Women and Captain Marvel.

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News Network
April 11,2020

New Delhi, Apr 11: Actor Hema Malini on Saturday expressed concern over the health workers, who are being treated badly and are restricted to enter their own building.

The 71-year-old actor took to Instagram and shared a video where she expressed concern over the situation the health workers are going through. "Friends, I have seen this in various news channels and I am very sad that the health workers are being treated very badly. They are being restricted to enter their own building," she said.

The 'Baghban' actor further said: "Just think, in such times, they are our safeguards amid such situation (coronavirus outbreak). They are the ones who are going to ground level and are finding out the patients suffering from the disease."

She went on to add that "they do so, to save you. Remember, opposing them is to play with the safety of the country and every citizen. That is why we should honour them. Jai Hind."

In the post accompanying the video, she wrote, "Some of you might have watched the following interview on India TV where I have spoken about how I spend a typical day during this lockdown and social distancing period. This is for those of you who might have missed it!"

The post garnered more than 1.3k views within 35 minutes of being posted on the photo-sharing platform.

Just like other celebrities, Hema Malini is also practicing self-isolation amid the 21-day government-imposed lockdown in view of coronavirus outbreak.

India's total cases of coronavirus on Saturday climbed to 7,529 including 242 deaths and 652 people, who have either been cured or discharged, said the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday. 

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