Salman Khan hit-and-run case: No more examination of witnesses

Mumbai: A day after Salman Khan's driver Ashok Singh testified before the sessions court that he was driving the car at the time of 2002 mishap for which the Bollywood actor has been charged, the defence, on Tuesday, said it did not want to examine more witnesses.

Judge DW Deshpande asked both the sides to make final arguments from Wednesday. The prosecution, led by Pradeep Gharat, was asked to argue first, followed by Salman's lawyer Shrikant Shivade. The prosecution's argument is likely to take at least a week.

Singh, Khan's family driver, appeared before the court yesterday, claiming full responsibility for the accident in which one person died and four others were injured. Asked why he was approaching the court more than 12 years after the incident, the driver said that Salim Khan, the well-known script-writer and Salman's father, had advised him to tell the truth to the court. Singh also denied, to the prosecution's question, that he had received money to make a false deposition.

According to the prosecution, a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by Salman in a drunk state rammed into a bakery in suburban Bandra in the wee hours of September 28, 2002, running over the people sleeping outside. The prosecution examined more than 25 witnesses while the defence examined only one witness (apart from Salman Khan who is the accused) during the trial.