The police bodyguard, whose complaint brought Bollywood actor Salman Khan to trial in a hit-and-run case, died a lonely death at TB hospital in Sewri on Wednesday, putting a question mark on Salman’s court proceedings.

The bodyguard constable Ravindra Patil was 29.  He was  suffering from TB and was admitted to the TB hospital almost a month back but his close relatives were not aware about his hospitalisation.

Ravindra was with the actor in the Toyota Land Cruiser on that fateful night in September 2002. Salman had allegedly lost control of the speeding vehicle, which ran over four bakery workers sleeping on the pavement on a road in Bandra suburb.

One of the workers died instantly, while another was grievously injured. Two others had sustained minor injuries. Salman ran away  from the scene of the accident and it was Patil who lodged the FIR at the Bandra police station.

Salman was arrested the next day but was released on a bail of Rs 900, which triggered huge public outcry.

Subsequently, Salman was rearrested for culpable homicide and was sent to a fortnight-long custody. The charge, however, was dropped by the Bombay High Court and he is now being tried for negligent driving.

Patil’s testimony was crucial to the case as in his FIR he had stated that Salman was drunk while driving and that Patil had warned him of meeting with an accident for his rash driving. As per the FIR, Salman ignored his warning and finally met with an accident. However, when the trial began, Patil became untraceable. After several months, he was located at  Panchgani from where he was arrested and brought before the trial court.

During his eye-witness testimony, Patil recoiled from his police statement and said he did not remember whether Salman was drunk or not. He was subsequently dismissed from police service. With his death, lawyers on both sides are wondering how it will impact the verdict in the case, which revolves around his statement.