A man displays photographs of Bollywood star Salman Khan, for decorating the interiors of auto-rickshaws in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. A Mumbai court has sentenced the actor to five years in prison in the 2002 hit-and-run case.
Struggling to cope with the mishap and its repercussions 13 years later, the victims of the 2002 hit-and-run case involving actor Salman Khan appeared to be more concerned with more compensation than the five year sentence given to the Bollywood star.
Abdullah Rauf Shaikh, who lost a leg in the accident, told reporters in Mumbai on the eve of the judgement “If Salman is punished, I will not be benefitted in any way. My leg is not going to heal nor do my problems vanish. Instead, we expect some compensation that will help us.” The bakery employee who now does petty jobs said he had no anger towards Khan.
The family of Nurullah Sharif, who died in the accident, told PTI, “We were told we will get a compensation of Rs. 10 lakh, but what will we do of that amount at this time of inflation.” She said that she would be benefited if her son gets a job.
Mohammed Kalim, another bakery employee injured in the accident, has relocated from Mumbai to Sultanpur in Bihar. He had testified before the sessions court during the trial that he had seen Khan exit from the door adjacent to the steering wheel of the his car, and had seen police constable Ravindra Patil climb down from the left of the driver’s seat. “I can’t work normally. My wounds have healed, but it still pains in my arms, legs, and chest intermittently. We need compensation. What will we get if Salman is punished by the court? If you make food, and keep it in front of us, but we can’t eat it, what is the use of it?” he told NDTV in an interview.
However, the sessions court Judge D.W. Deshpande said in his verdict that more compensation would not be given to the victims. Khan had earlier paid a compensation of Rs. 19 lakh for all the five victims.
>Salman Khan convicted in hit-and-run case
Justice D.W. Deshpande held the Bollywood actor guilty of all counts rejecting his claim that his driver Ashok Singh was at the wheel when the accident took place. > Read more
- Other Controversies
- › Blackbuck case: He was accused of poaching two Blackbucks in 1998 near Jodhpur during the shooting of 'Hum Saath Saath Hain'. He was sentenced to one year prison.
- › Comments about 26/11 attacks: “It was the elite that was targeted this time. So they panicked. Then they got up and spoke about it. My question is why not before? Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much,” Salman said in 2010. He claimed that Pakistan cannot be held responsible. He later apologised.
- › Aishwarya Rai in the picture: After their presence in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, the couple’s relationship was in the eye of the storm. After they broke up in 2002, Aishwarya alleged that the actor harassed her, as he was unable to come to terms with the ending of their relationship. A case was also registered by Aishwarya’s parents.
- › Brawl with SRK: In 2008, the two actors allegedly got into a fistfight during a party. The relationship between the two stars has never been the same since then. However, the two actors got back together on a good foot in an Iftar party and SRK attended Salman’s sister’s wedding. SRK visited Salman hours before the verdict on hit-and-run case.
- › Vivek Oberoi’s allegations: The actor accused Salman of "threatening to kill him, abusing and indulging in character assassination." It was rumoured that Vivek Oberoi and Aishwarya Rai were in a relationship.
Published - May 06, 2015 10:15 pm IST
