Mangaluru: Late morning until late in the afternoon yesterday, I was glued to my sofa watching the last scene of the Salman Khan’s 13 year hit-n-run case where he had killed an innocent homeless man lying on the pavement. During the nearly 2 hours of the TV broadcast of court’s final verdict on Salman Khan, I had kept my fingers crossed whether they will find him guilty or will be acquitted- because anything could happen in the the Indian judiciary system if you are highly influential in the society, rich, have political support or have lots of money to bribe in order to win the case. But this time, the verdict was corrupt free- Salman Khan got what he deserved and I fully compliment the Judge for slapping a five-year rigorous imprisonment term for Khan’s brutal act. For killing a innocent homeless man and also injuring many others, he should have got much more severe punishment- but let’s be happy with what punishment he got. Something better than Nothing, I guess!
Sources reveal that, for nearly 13 years Salman tried every possible trick to escape punishment. He changed lawyers, deceived courts, courted the media, airbrushed his image—from the bad boy of Bollywood he tried “Being Human”. But unfortunately, Salman didn’t succeed what he was wishing for. Sorry, he is going to jail, getting the deserved punishment for his karma. With this verdict and punishment given to the accused, we can now at least feel and say that the Indian criminal justice system is in somewhat in safe hands; it doesn’t require the services of “Dabangg” cops to dispense punishment.
There are two ways to look at Salman’s conviction. It can be argued that he managed to stay out of jail for several years because of his clout and money. Salman has been on trial in five cases—four related to poaching spotted deer and black bucks in Jodhpur and one for mowing down people on the streets of Mumbai. Yet, in spite of two convictions before Wednesday’s judgment, Salman spent just a few hours in jail. Last time he was incarcerated, Salman Khan found it difficult to sleep in a 10X10 barrack of Jodhpur’s Central Jail. It is unlikely that he will find it any easier in Mumbai’s equally uncomfortable Arthur Road jail, at least on the first night. While he tosses and turns in his cell tonight, Salman could ask himself a simple question: What did he gain from evading punishment for so long through tricks and legal treachery?
Now that he has been sentenced to five years in jail, Salman will be wondering if the delay only prolonged his agony. All of it is well deserved. A few days ago, when Salman’s driver appeared in the court and claimed that he was responsible for the Mumbai accident, nobody missed the joke. “Soon, a black buck will write an application to the Jodhpur Court saying it was not killed by Salman but had committed suicide,” went the joke on Twitter, sarcastically pointing at Salman’s efforts to deny an irrefutable truth. For the deplorable effort of pinning the blame on an innocent driver alone (albeit with his consent), Salman deserves every bit of the pain he has endured and the punishment he will serve.
The Bhai’s troubles, however, are far from over. Salman is the main accused in three cases of poaching protected animals in Jodhpur, in another related case he is accused of using firearms without a valid licence. The lower courts have already found him guilty in two cases of poaching. In the first he was sentenced to a year in jail, primarily because it was his first offence. In the second he was sentenced to five years in jail by virtue of being a repeat offender. His appeal against these verdicts is pending. In the two remaining cases, the verdict could be announced any time and, if found guilty, the punishment could be extremely severe.
The worst-case scenario for Salman could be this: he spent the last 15 years trying to avoid punishment. He could be spending the next decade serving sentences for his crimes. That would make for an agonising Silver Jubilee for the superstar. Khan’s conviction comes during what was probably his highest point in India’s film industry. In 2014, the actor topped the Forbes celebrity list on two parameters, riches and fame, earning some Rs244.5 crore. It was for the first time in three years that Shah Rukh Khan was removed from the top spot.
Khan has acted in more than 30 films in the last 12 years. But it was in 2009 that the actor’s calling as an action hero was discovered. That year, he acted in director Prabhu Deva’s Wanted, which went on to become a blockbuster. And his appeal wasn’t merely limited to urban multiplexes, with thousands of fans swarming countless single-screen theatres across the country, helping Khan deliver hit after hit. These included massive blockbusters like Dabangg, Dabangg 2, Ek Tha Tiger, Kick and Bodyguard. His last seven blockbusters have clocked a total of Rs1,100 crore ($173 million) at the box-office. Here’s the breakup:
But this verdict might end Khan’s stellar run of success. Soon after the conviction, scrips of companies directly or indirectly related to Khan tanked. Shares of Eros International Media, which has acquired global distribution rights for Khan’s upcoming film Bajrangi Bhaijaan, dropped as much as 5.1%. Meanwhile, shares of PVR, which operates multiplexes across India and also distributes and produces movies, fell almost 2%. The stock of Mandhana Industries, which designs, markets and distributes the Being Human brand of products, was down over 4%. Mandhana, a Mumbai-based textile company, has signed an exclusive contract with Being Human to promote the brand. Being Human is Khan’s charitable foundation.
Among his other upcoming films are Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which combined with Bajrangi Bhaijaan, is estimated to cost Rs200-250 crore, according to Economic Times newspaper. Karan Johar’s Shuddhi, Anees Bazmee’s No Entry Mein Entry and Ali Abbas Zafar’s Sultan are also in the pipeline.
Here is a timeline of what happened in the last 13 years:
Sep. 2002: Khan, reportedly driving a Toyota Land Cruiser, rams his car into a pavement in Bandra, Mumbai. One homeless man is killed immediately and four others are injured.
Oct. 2002: Khan surrenders to the Mumbai Police, but is later granted bail. His blood samples are also taken by the police. The Mumbai Police charges Khan under Section 304-II of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Under the section, a person can be sentenced up to 10 years for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
June 2003: Khan challenges Section 304-II at the Bombay High Court. The Maharashtra government then challenges that order in India’s Supreme Court, which says that the magistrate court can decide if the section can be applied.
Oct. 2007: The prime witness in the hit-and-run case dies of tuberculosis. Ravindra Patil, a police officer who was deputed as Khan’s bodyguard (after Khan reportedly received threatening calls from India’s underworld), was in the car when the accident happened. He also filed the First Information Report in the case.
Dec. 2012: After years of hanging fire, the magistrate court rules that Khan has to be tried for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Dec. 2013: The magistrate court orders a retrial of the case.
July 2014: All the witnesses in the case appear before the court for the retrial. Over the next few months, witnesses depose, the case file goes missing and a special public prosecutor is appointed.
March 2015: 24 witnesses are examined and Khan’s statements are also recorded. Khan’s personal driver, Ashok Singh, tells the court that he was behind the wheels during the accident.
April 2015: Prosecution lawyers and Khan’s lawyers begin arguments in the court. The court sets the date of verdict as May 6.
Now that “Big Boss” host and Bollywood actor Salman Khan got the punishment for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and killing a innocent man, how many drivers or riders in drunken state in Mangaluru will be careful in future- I bet a very few, because you can easily get out without getting into trouble when caught- because our lovely cops are so corrupt that they will wait to find out whether the driver/rider is rich or poor-only then they will file an FIR. Such cases have been reported in the past where local drivers under the influence of alcohol have killed or seriously injured people, but never got into trouble through political influence, bribing the cops and so on-they are still on the road, awaiting to kill or injure more Mangaloreans. It’s time for our cops to stop their corruptness and be strict with those drivers/riders who drive in intoxicate state. Can we trust our city cops in handling and punishing DUI drivers without being corrupt?-is a question hard to answer!
Once again beautifully written giving logical explanations.