Concluding its final arguments in the 2002 hit-and-run case against Salman Khan, the prosecution said here on Thursday that it was proven beyond doubt that the actor was driving the car at the time of the accident.
To buttress its case, the prosecution cited the case of Alister Pareira, who was convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after seven persons were killed in a hit- and-run case in 2006.
“Salman cannot deny that he had knowledge that people were sleeping on the pavement. The vehicle ran into a gutter after running over five persons, four of whom were fortunately saved. The accused is expected to be more cautious,” Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said. He submitted the Alister Pareira judgment to the court.
The prosecution said both cases were similar. Summarising his arguments, Mr. Gharat said that apart from one Ramashray Pandey, no witness had suggested that more than three persons were there in the car. “The prosecution's case is that only three persons were in the car. There is no attempt to bring Kamaal Khan on the driving seat or even to the front. There has been no challenge to this [by the defence]. Ravindra Patil [the police constable who was Salman’s bodyguard] was cross-questioned extensively. There was not even a remote suggestion that he took the wheels. When these two possibilities are ruled out, then there must be another person who was driving. Who remains?”
Mr. Gharat said Ashok Singh’s evidence should be discarded. “All charges against the accused stand duly proved beyond reasonable doubt. The accident did take place, a vehicle belonging to Salman was involved, the accused was present at the spot, the accused went away without offering help to the injured, the accused didn’t have a driving licence, and he was in a drunken state,” he said.
The defence will begin its final arguments on Friday.
