Salman Khan found guilty on all counts in hit-and-run trial, sentenced to 5 years in prison

May 6, 2015 NR

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was on Wednesday sentenced to five years in jail for a 2002 hit-and-run accident that left one man dead and four others injured.

As Additional Sessions Judge D.W. Deshpande, who earlier found him guilty on all the charges, pronounced the sentence in a packed courtroom, the 49-year-old Salman was in tears.

His sisters, Alvira and Arpita, tried to console him although they themselves were crying.

One of the highest paid actors in Bollywood, Salman was sentenced for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, driving without valid licence and other charges.

The judge also held Salman guilty of rash and negligent driving when he was behind the wheel of his Land Cruiser that killed the victim on a footpath in suburban Bandra in September 2002.

Special Public Prosecutor Pradeep Gharat said the court has found Salman guilty on all counts.

Defence lawyer Shrikant Shivade, who pleaded for a milder sentence keeping in view the social services the actor was involved in and his medical problems, is expected to move the Bombay High Court.

Legal experts said the time was too short for Salman's defence team as the court will close for the annual summer vacation after three days (from May 9) and reopen only on June 7.

The court also rejected the belated statement by Salman's driver Ashok Singh owning up responsibility for the accident. The prosecution is contemplating charging him with perjury.

Salman is likely to be taken into police custody and, after a medical examination, will be sent to the Arthur Road Central Jail in south Mumbai.

This is the third case of a high-profile Bollywood actor going to jail in Mumbai.

In May 2013, actor Sanjay Dutt was convicted for his role in the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings and sentenced to five years in jail. He is lodged in Pune's Yerwada Central Jail.

In March 2011, a Mumbai Sessions Court sentenced actor Shiney Ahuja to seven years for raping his domestic help in 2009. Since April 2011, he is out on bail, pending a hearing of his appeal against the sentence.