News Digest

Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s hit-and-run conviction quashed

Bollywood actor Salman Khan has had his 2002 conviction for hit-and-run quashed by a Mumbai court. The superstar was sentenced to five years in jail in May for crashing his car into a group of homeless people, killing one man. A judge in India had convicted the 49-year-old of culpable homicide over the hit-and-run, which happened at the end of a night out drinking in Mumbai in 2002. Khan had blamed his driver for the crash and had faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The appeal is allowed and the decision of the trial court is quashed and set aside. Salman Khan is acquitted of all charges.

Bombay high court judge Anil Ramchandra Joshi

During the trial, which began in 2014 after several legal hold-ups, witnesses claimed Khan was at the wheel when his Toyota Land Cruiser mounted the pavement and ploughed into five men as they slept. Khan’s driver told the court in April that he was driving at the time, and the accident had been caused by a burst tyre. The Bombay High Court has now decided that the prosecution failed to establish its case against Khan and on the basis of the evidence submitted he cannot be convicted, the Times of India reported. Indian news agency ANI tweeted that BJP politician Babul Supriyo said the judiciary’s verdict should be supported. Khan’s fans gathered outside his home in Mumbai to celebrate his acquittal.