Sessions court rules out tyre burst theory in Salman case

The Mumbai Sessions court, which has convicted and sentenced actor Salman Khan to five years rigorous imprisonment, has ruled that the Toyata Land Cruiser Lexus was at a tremendous speed and the accident was a result of rash and negligent driving.

Defence counsel Shrikant Shivade during the arguments had said that the vehicle was being driven by Khans’ family driver Ashok Singh and not Salman Khan and it was not speed, but a tyre burst that resulted the car to veer off the road. Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat, however, had stated that there were enough witnesses who all gave evidence about the speed.

Additional sessions judge D W Deshpande, in his verdict, said: “It is also pertinent to note that if the vehicle was going in a slow speed as argued by Shivade, then the vehicle could have been stopped by applying brakes. However, what happened in this case is that the vehicle leaves the road, went on the footpath, ran over the people sleeping on the footpath and climbed 2-3 stairs of the American Express bakery. It is clear that the vehicle was in speed.”

The judge pointed out that the prosecution witness Francis Fernandes, who is a friend of Khan had also admitted that he heard a noise of impact on the night of accident. “So, the argument of Shivade about the tyre burst is ruled out. The vehicle went out of control as it took a turn on the Hill Road.”