Salman Khan’s driver told a Mumbai court on March 30 that it was him, not the Bollywood actor, who was behind the wheel of a car that killed one man and injured four who were sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai 13 years ago.
According to The Hindustan Times, the driver, Ashok Singh, who was appearing in court for the first time, said the accident, on September 28, 2002, was caused by a tyre bursting, after which the brakes jammed.
Khan had previously testified that he was neither driving nor drunk on the night his car crashed into the American Express Bakery in a Mumbai suburb.
Singh told the court that he had not been paid to say he was driving, and that Salim Khan, the actor’s father, had simply told him to tell the truth.
The court was told that on the night of the crash, Khan had gone to a bar with his brother, Suhail Khan, but only drank water.
Denying witness accounts that he had been behind the wheel, Khan told the judge the reason he was spotted climbing out of the driver’s door was because “my left door was jammed, so I couldn’t open it.”
Khan is facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in jail. The trial continues.
artslife@thenational.ae
