Salman' Khan's Hit and Run Case

Salman Khan is a famous star of Mumbai cinema and it is rumored that he charges millions of dollars for a role.  Nearly 12 years back this star in an inebriated condition after a night fling rammed his  car against a pavement and ran over 5 poor workers who were sleeping there. Subsequently one of the workers died and others were seriously injured.  Salman ran away from the scene and later  asked his driver to take the rap. His instinct of self survival was over powering and he showed that he is not a man to own up to his mistake. How nice it would have been and I would have applauded him in case he had owned up to the crime and  said "" Look I am guilty and sorry and I am ready to be punished for my crime". I am sure the courts would have been lenient and perhaps he would have got a lesser sentence than the 5 years awarded now.

Unfortunately Khan never owned up and came up with silly excuses like he was not driving, when witnesses had seen him drive. He claimed he was not drunk, but there are witnesses who  have vouchsafed that he was drunk. His last defence was silly in the extreme when his driver, who has been with him for last 25 years  stood in the dock and uttered a lie that Salman was not  at the wheel and he was driving. Anybody could see that the driver  made this statement after 12 years in the court and obviously some consideration was exchanged for this brazen lie.

The court has rejected all evidences and concluded that Salman was guilty and sentenced him to 5  years jail.  Here is a man being punished for a crime and yet he was besieged by important politicians and film stars who expressed solidarity with Khan and even hinted that the punishment was "excessive". His supporters list reads like  a who is who and yet these great men and women had not a thought to share and express about the man killed by Khan, whose family is poor and destitute in their native Utter Pradesh. It shows that the rich matter and the poor have no place.

Salman should have been arrested and taken to jail, but the Bombay High court within 2 hours gave him interim bail. A trial that took 12 years to complete  led to a bail in 2 hours. Is this what we expect of Indian judiciary ? Would the high court have granted  bail in case a poor driver was involved ? The learned judges must answer this question

The fact that emerges is that what matters is money and power and if you have these ingredients, you can get away with anything.