Tyre burst caused the accident, I was at wheel: Salman Khan's driver tells court

March 31, 2015

Mumbai, Mar 31: In a dramatic twist in the retrial of Bollywood actor Salman Khan's 2002 hit-and-run case, his driver Ashok Singh on Monday told a court here that it was he who drove the killer vehicle, but the prosecution appeared unconvinced by the confession.

Salman case

The 43-year-old Ashok Singh told the court of Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande that he was driving the vehicle when the accident took place on 28 September, 2002, leaving a pavement dweller dead, public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat told the media here.

Gharat pointed out that the only person who appeared to agree with Ashok Singh's version was Salman.

He said the defence had put up the driver to save the Bollywood actor.

"I have not seen any complaint or any record about Ashok Singh (being the driver) and no other witnesses have spoken about him," he said.

Ashok Singh told the court that he was at the wheel of the Toyota Land Cruiser which was not speeding when its tyre burst, but the car dragged to the left and he lost control over it.

As he tried hard to hit the brakes, the vehicle had already climbed the steps of the American Express Bakery, resulting in the death of a sleeping pavement dweller.

Shocked by the accident, Salman, who was sitting on the left seat attempted to open the door, but it was jammed. So he alighted from the right side or the driver's door, Ashok Singh said to questions posed by defence lawyer Shrikant Shivade.

Endorsing Salman's earlier statement in the court last week, Ashok Singh said that shortly after the accident, he dialled police control No.100 and informed them of the incident.

Later, he went to the Bandra police station to lodge a complaint, but said nobody there listened to him and he was made to wait on a bench outside.

Subsequently that morning, Salman was summoned to the police station and charged with the accident, making him (Ashok Singh) suspect something was wrong as his statement was not recorded.

Asked where was he for so many years, Ashok Singh replied: "From day one of the accident, I have been saying that I was driving the vehicle and not Salman Khan. But nobody listened, and I was not aware what I should do further."

Responding to prosecutor Gharat's pointed questions during cross-examination that he was taking the blame on himself in return for a huge sum of money, Ashok Singh denied the charge.

He countered by saying that he was in the family's employment since 1990 when he worked for Salim Khan, eminent script-writer and Salman's father, and was devoted to the family though he would not sacrifice his life for them.

Ashok Singh said he came to the court after Salim Khan's advice to do so and he continues to work for the family.

Besides the death of a man, four others sleeping on the pavement were injured in the accident outside American Express Bakery, close to the actor's sea-front house in Galaxy Apartments at Bandra.

Salman is facing re-trial in the case in the Mumbai Sessions Court with several charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which stipulates a 10-year jail term.

The actor was arrested soon after the accident and the case was tried before a Bandra magistrate's court for rash and negligent driving, the charge attracting a two-year jail sentence.

Later, the enhanced charges were slapped on the actor and the matter was transferred to the sessions court.

In a statement recorded on Friday under Section 313 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Salman said he was not drunk, not driving the SUV, and did not flee from the scene of the accident.

Further arguments in the case will continue on 1 April.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 30,2020

Mumbai, Apr 30: Rishi Kapoor, the romantic star of many a Bollywood film who was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018, died in a Mumbai hospital on Thursday, his brother Randhir Kapoor said. He was 67.

Rishi, a third generation actor of the famous Kapoor dynasty, is survived by his wife Neetu Kapoor, actor son Ranbir and daughter Ridhima.

"He is no more. He has passed away," Randhir said.

Rishi was taken to the H N Reliance hospital by his family on Wednesday.

His death comes a day after after his "D-Day" co-star Irrfan Khan passed away, also of cancer. Three months ago, the disease claimed his sister Ritu Nanda.

"Our dear Rishi Kapoor passed away peacefully at 8:45am IST in hospital today after a two-year battle with leukemia. The doctors and medical staff at the hospital said he kept them entertained to the last.

He remained jovial and determined to live to the fullest right through two years of treatment across two continents. Family, friends, food and films remained his focus and everyone who met him during this time was amazed at how he did not let his illness get the better of him, the family said in a statement.

Rishi returned to India last September after undergoing treatment for his cancer in the US for almost a year.

In February, he was hospitalised twice.

He was first admitted to a hospital in Delhi where he was attending a family function. At the time, he had said he was suffering from an "infection".

After his return to Mumbai, he was again admitted to a hospital with viral fever. He was discharged soon after.

Rishi made his first screen appearance as a child artiste in his father Raj Kapoor's film Shri 420 , where he appeared in the song Pyaar hua ekraar hua . This was followed by "Mera Naam Joker". But it was in 1973, with the blockbuster Bobby , again directed by his father, that he made his debut as a romantic hero. He continued to be a favourite romantic hero for almost three decades.

His notable films as a romantic hero are "Laila Majnu", "Rafoo Chakkar", "Karz", "Chandni", "Heena" and "Saagar".

He was, however, more proud of his second innings as an actor, which he found more satisfying. His notable films as a character artiste are "Do Dooni Chaar" with wife Neetu, "Agnipath" and "Kapoor & Sons".

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Netowrk
July 10,2020

New Delhi, Jul 10: Actor Bhumi Pednekar, who is staying indoors like many other Bollywood celebrities, on Friday said that she has learned to prioritise what is important to her amid the COVID-19-induced lockdown.

"One thing that I have learnt about myself is that I love isolation. I love being by myself. I saw a lot of people complaining that they are bored at home or that they cannot go out. I am an extrovert, I am a very social person but this quarantine has led me to realise that I do prefer my isolation over meeting people because I haven't really been in touch with people," she said.

"I have kind of been catching over my reading, not seen much television but started watching shows. I have spent a lot of time with my mom and honesty there were days when I did nothing," she added.

The 'Pati Patni Aur Woh' actor further said that it was important loving oneself and enjoying one's own company.

"I have kind of prioritised what I feel is important in life. I have re-educated myself. But the biggest learning has been that I love being alone. And maybe I have kind of enjoyed this state because as actors you are constantly surrounded by people whether you are promoting or shooting a film," she said.

"Your immediate entourage is also like a team of quite a few people. You are constantly over the phone, you are constantly over social media," she added.

Pednekar was last seen in Karan Johar's horror film 'Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship,'.

She will next be seen in another horror thriller, 'Durgavati.'

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 30,2020

California, Jun 30: Online video-sharing platform YouTube on Monday banned several prominent channels, including those belonging to Stefan Molyneux and Richard Spencer.

The company banned six channels for repeatedly violating YouTube's policies.

According to The Verge, other channels banned include American Renaissance (with its associated channel AmRen Podcasts) and the channel for Spencer's National Policy Institute.

YouTube began taking stern measures on supremacist channels in June 2019.

"We have strict policies prohibiting hate speech on YouTube, and terminate any channel that repeatedly or egregiously violates those policies," the Verge quoted a YouTube spokesperson as saying.

"After updating our guidelines to better address supremacist content, we saw a 5x spike in video removals and have terminated over 25,000 channels for violating our hate speech policies," the spokesperson added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.