bhai RELEASED on bail, thread 2 - Page 57

BOLLYWOOD singer Abhijeet ran into trouble yesterday after a complaint was filed against him in a Bihar court for his remarks regarding the Salman Khan hit- and- run case.

In a series of tweets, the playback singer expressed solidarity with Salman and said the accident was not the actor's fault but that of the victims who were sleeping on the pavement when the vehicle hit them.

Abhijeet had tweeted, " Come out fraternity, support @ BeingSalmanKhan boldly not hypocriticly Roads footpath r not meant 4 sleeping, not driver's or alcohol's fault," and " Roads are meant for cars and dogs not for people sleeping on them." Advocate Sudhir Kumar Ojha filed a complaint in the Chief Judicial Magistrate court in Muzaffarpur, where the matter will come up for hearing today. The complainant claimed that he had been hurt by the " derogatory" remarks of the singer, which he saw on TV channels and decided to seek punishment.

Meanwhile, an animal activist in Jaipur, Babu Lal Jaju, also called for Abhijeet's arrest, saying the insensitive comments not only encouraged others to drive vehicles in a drunken state, but also encouraged the killing of dogs on roads. He added that he had written to the Animal Welfare Board of India, Chennai, seeking action against the singer.

Judge D W Deshpande made these important observations as part of the judgment against Salman Khan, which was delivered at the Sessions Court on Wednesday

SALMAN could have provided medical help The accused had knowledge, being a resident of the same locality, that poor labourers used to sleep in front of the bakery. It was also brought on record that the accused is a regular visitor to the Rain Bar.

Khan was also having knowledge that one should not drive a vehicle after consuming alcohol.

The accused was also having knowledge that one should not drive a vehicle without licence. Khan, after the accident, did not wait at the spot, and instead of going to the police station for lodging information, he went to his house. Till 10: 30 am, the accused did not make himself available at the police station or go to see the injured in the hospital. The accused is a wellknown artiste, it was possible for him to provide medical help to the poor people, but he didn't. For not visiting the

police station, ( the reason) is that the accused was under the influence of alcohol.

Valet parking attendant saw Salman in the driver's seat The valet parking man at J W Marriott, Kalpesh, had given the possession of the car to Khan. There is direct evidence of the same witness who saw Salman sitting at the driver's seat and the accused had given a tip of R 500 to him. According to Special Public Prosecutor ( Pradeep) Gharat, a tip is to be given when one leaves from a place. In such a situation, not producing the parking tagand not examining the main person at the valet parking will not be fatal to the case of prosecution.

Tyre didn't burst; accident was caused by rash and negligent driving The defence put forth by the accused about bursting of the tyre is also ruled out. The accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving while turning

the vehicle without taking proper care and attention, having knowledge that the people were sleeping in front of the laundry. Defence argued that for a distance of 7- 8 km, at a speed of 90- 100 km/ h, very little time would be required ( to reach the spot from J W Marriott), but according to the defence, 30 minutes' time was required to reach the spot of

the incident. So, according to defence, the vehicle was not speeding. If really the vehicle was not in speed, bursting of the tyre would not arise, and vehicle could have been stopped on the spot by applying the brakes as the car was having ABS ( anti- lock braking system). It means that the vehicle was in speed and while taking right turn on Hill Road from St Andrews Road, the accused lost control and went straight over the people sleeping in front of the laundry; this amounts to rash and negligent driving. Khan was not even in a position to think, in order to apply the brakes, and the vehicle climbed the stairs after crushing Nurullah and injuring four persons.

Salman must have been a little tipsy So it goes to establish that the accused must have been a little tipsy because of the drinks he had consumed some time back.

It is indeed extremely difficult to assess or judge when liquor

would show its effect or would be at its peak.

The prosecution, saying that Khan was under the influence of alcohol, examined the bar waiter and manager ( of Rain Bar) who were giving drinks and snacks at the table ( where Salman was seated).

Also, the examination of the chemical analyst said his blood contained 0.62 mg of alcohol.

While the defence said that he just had water there. One cannot go to a bar just to drink water.

The actor was driving, not driver Ashok Singh While concluding, I find that it is established beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution that the accused was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. Therefore, defence of the accused that Ashok Singh was driving is discarded from consideration. Singh is a gotup witness who has come to help the accused on the instruction of Salim Khan, father of Salman Khan.