Probe in Salman Khan hit-and-run case had lapses, says cop

Probe in Salman Khan hit-and-run case had lapses, says cop

Mumbai: A circular highlighting the blunders and breaches in the 2002 hit and run case investigations involving famous Bollywood actor Salman Khan was issued to all the police stations in the city by the Mumbai police.

The move was aimed at preventing the discomfort caused due to losing a case involving high profile personalities.

"A circular (in this regard) has been sent to all police stations in the city," a senior official attached with Mumbai police told reporters. "This is to prevent the embarrassment which police face following the Salman Khan case," he said.

The circular noted 16 major lapses among several other procedural fallacies of the police.

Key highlights of the lapses were:

  • Salman assumed alcohol according to the bills accumulated from the bar. However, the bills were not collected according to the provisions of section 65 (B) of the Evidence Act.
  • The bills from J W Marriot and the vehicle's parking bill collected by the police were not attached with the panchnama. This resulted in doubts about Salman's exact time of leaving the bar.
  • Although Salman was available since the morning of September 28, 2002, he was taken for the medical examination only in the afternoon.
  • Salman's blood sample was collected at the J J Hospital. However, the blood sample of the deceased was taken at the Bhabha Hospital.
  • The blood samples were stored in the police station for two days before taking them to the forensics on September 30, 2002. Therefore, the court suspected that the samples could have been tampered or not stored properly. This lead to the doubts about the biological report being trustworthy.
  • The statement of the constable who brought the samples was not recorded while the investigation was taking place.
  • In spite of the fact that 6 ml of blood was extracted from Salman. Only 4 ml of it was received by the lab. Moreover, no examination of the clerk who received the samples was conducted.
  • No verification of the medical papers done by the investigating officer.
  • Section 66 (i) (b) of Bombay Prohibition Act wasn't framed despite such irregularities.
  • There was no record of statements by the witnesses. Nobody stated that Salman was driving the car.
  • The defence presented bursting of a tyre as the cause of the accident. However, cross-checking of the claim wasn't conducted by sending the tyre to the forensic lab.
  • Lastly, there was no interrogation conducted of singer Kamaal Khan, who was available for it.

The 50-year old actor was acquitted of all charges by the Bombay High Court.

Senior officials from the city asked other officers to present future cases void of loopholes, taking a cue from the Salman Khan case. (picture courtesy:newsworldindia.in)(Inputs from Agencies)

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