Are Celebrities Above The Law?

The Hit & Run Case Of Salman Khan

On September 28, 2002, Salman Khan was alleged to have rammed his Toyota Land-cruiser onto the steps of A1 Bakery at the turning near Mehboob Studios in Bandra, Mumbai. A 70 year old pavement dweller was crushed to death and 4 others were injured. Witnesses alleged that Salman Khan was driving the vehicle, but the actor denied the charges. One of the key witness in this case was Salman Khan's bodyguard 'Ravindra Patil' who was sitting besides Salman in the front seat.

Ravindra Patil had lodged an FIR against Salman Khan and in his statement he had said that Salman Khan was drunk and was driving rashly. Patil stated that he had warned Salman to drive slowly as he was in an inebriated condition. However, Khan did not heed to the warning and rammed his Land-cruiser onto the Bakery steps, killing 1 old man and injuring 4 others.

Ravindra Patil came under tremendous pressure to change his statement and suddenly he went missing. Ranvidra Patil had reportedly gone into hiding in order to avoid Khan's lawyers and also alleged harassment from within the police force. He was later arrested and kept in cell with hardcore criminals only because he failed to appear as a witness in the trial. In August 2007, Patil was found on the streets near Sewri and admitted to hospital where he died in October. He had been suffering from tuberculosis for two years. Till his death, he did not change his statement that Salman Khan was indeed the one in the drivers seat.

In May 2015, Salman Khan was found guilty of the charges of culpable homicide laid against him. The Bombay Sessions court concluded that the actor was driving the car under the influence of alcohol. Sessions judge D.W. Deshpande convicted the actor to 5 years in prison. Later on the same day, the Bombay HC granted him 2 days interim bail, after which the court suspended his prison sentence until the final appeal hearing in July.

In December 2015, Khan was acquitted of all charges from this case, due to lack of evidence

The Supreme Court on Tuesday July 5, 2016 admitted a plea by the Maharashtra government that challenged the acquittal of Salman Khan in this hit-and-run case by the Bombay High Court.

Knowing our judicial system, it is clear that we will have to wait for quite some time for the final verdict to arrive, but till then, would we continue to watch his movies and make him feel good all the time?

Doesn't your conscience tell you to stand up and raise your voice against this murderer?

What if Salman Khan's car had killed a member of your family?

What if you were that innocent endangered Black-buck who was shot to death for his pleasure?

What if you were in place of Aishwarya Rai and harassed day and night for not agreeing to be in an abusive relationship with Salman Khan?

What if you had lost your job just because of standing up to Salman Khan and reporting to the police about his abusive behavior?

Would you still continue watching his movies and let him be the star that he is today? Does your conscience not tell you to wake up and stand up for justice and punish the offender? Salman Khan is lucky that he was born in India, for he can play around with our legal system and find loopholes to roam around freely even after committing such a heinous crime. All the so called charity and community work that Salman has been doing to exonerate himself from all charges, will not change the fact that he is an alleged murderer. The only way we can send across the right message is by boycotting Salman Khan's movies. He may not lose fans in huge numbers but even a few ticket sales less will send across the message to him that his fan base is declining because of him not accepting the crime that he has committed.

Late Ravindra Patil stayed firm in his statement till his last breath. He maintained that Salman Khan was driving the car. Salman Khan has also been alleged of bribing his driver and making him accept the crime that he never committed. It did happen and the driver insisted that he was driving. Ravindra patil taught us the true meaning of heroism.He lost everything simply because he was brave enough to speak the truth and stand by it. RIP Ravindra Patil-the real hero! The Supreme Judge, God almighty, is just and will deliver the right sentence to all the people who pushed this poor constable Patil to die as a destitute. Ravindra Patil's curse will haunt Salman and his cronies for years to come.

Salman Khan and Black-Buck Case:

The Rajasthan Govt. on October 18, 2016 filed an appeal in the Supreme court against the acquittal of Salman Khan in two Black Buck Poaching Cases.

On the sidelines of an event held in Jaipur, State Law Minister Rajendra Rathore told the media, "The government was studying the documents and evaluating its merits and demerits. Government then decided to move the Supreme Court against the decision."

The Rajasthan High Court's Jodhpur bench had acquitted Salman Khan on July 25, 2015 in two cases of Black Buck poaching in Jodhpur, observing that the statement of a key witness could not be considered as he had "disappeared" and the defence could not cross-examine him during the trial. 

The incident of Black Buck shooting had occured durig the shoot of Hum Saath Saath Hai. After the 2006 sentencing, Salman had spent a week in jail in Jodhpur before being granted bail. A third case of alleged poaching of endangered black buck by the actor is yet to be decided in Rajasthan

Check out this video made by group of people from Uttarakhand, it carries a very relevant message.