Freedom from jail is a party for Salman Khan

Friday, 25 October 2002, 19:30 IST
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MUMBAI: Actor Salman Khan, who is accused of culpable homicide, drove home from prison Thursday night straight to a party thrown by friends to welcome him back. Eyewitnesses said virtually all of Bollywood's top personalities converged at actor's Galaxy Apartments home in suburban Bandra. Among those present were Preity Zinta, Shilpa Shetty, Sanjay Dutt, Boney Kapoor, Amrita Arora, Sanjay Kapoor, Kishen Kumar, Chunkey Pandey, Malaika Arora-Khan, Mahesh Manjrekar and Afzal Khan. The place was rocking past 2.00 a.m., the witnesses said. According to the Bandra police, patrol vans were sent to the area late in the night to keep an eye on the proceedings. Much of the road outside Khan's home was taken over by vehicles of top Bollywood stars as they could not find space to park in the building compound. Police said they dispersed the crowds in the early hours after neighbours in surrounding buildings complained. When Khan drove home from the Thane Central Jail ahead of schedule after the authorities expedited his release, hordes of his fans gathered outside his house to cheer him on. "I want to start working again," Khan, who allegedly killed one homeless person by running over him with his Toyota Land Cruiser, shouted to the crowd. He did not answer queries from reporters about his stint in jail. The actor made frequent appearances on the balcony of his house to wave to his fans. He also came down to see off important guests like Sanjay Dutt. Khan, who has called Dutt his role model, hugged him and saw him off to his vehicle. Khan, who has been in police and judicial custody since October 7, was released on bail Thursday after a court imposed a number of conditions on him. The actor has been asked not to contact any of the witnesses or persons injured when his car allegedly ran over four homeless people sleeping on a footpath September 28. Khan was allegedly drunk at the wheel. The prosecution has accused the actor of a number of offences including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving, committing acts dangerous to lives of others and causing grievous hurt to others. He is also charged under various provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, including driving without a licence, drunken and rash driving, not rendering medical aid to an accident victim and not informing the police after an accident. Khan is also charged under the Prohibition Act that deals with offences committed under the influence of alcohol. All these offences are punishable with jail terms ranging from one to 10 years. Khan, who was arrested on the day of the mishap, had surrendered to the police. He was charged with rash driving and released on bail of 950. A public outcry followed. A lawsuit filed by journalist Nikhil Wagle and some social activists in the Bombay High Court challenged the legal provisions that allowed the actor to walk free just a few hours after the incident by posting bail. Subsequently Khan was arrested under laws that dealt with culpable homicide. If convicted, the actor faces a jail term of 10 years. The court ordered Khan to pay an interim compensation of 1 million to the family of the dead man, 300,000 to two who were seriously injured and 150,000 to another person who suffered minor injuries.
Source: IANS
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