Waiter identifies Salman Khan, says he served drinks to his group

A bar waiter identifies actor in court saying Salman had come along with his friends to have drinks in a five-star hotel on the same night he allegedly ran his car over people sleeping on Bandra footpath

There seems to be more trouble for actor Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case. The waiter of a Juhu-based five-star hotel testified in court yesterday that the actor had, with his friends, consumed alcohol that night.

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Salman Khan at a previous hearing at the sessions court

Molay Baug, who is the fourth witness in the case and worked at Zen Bar in J W Marriott in 2002 when the accident occurred, testified before the sessions court that he had served drinks to the actor and his friends that night.

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He mentioned to Judge D W Deshpande that around 2 am, Khan arrived at the bar with his friends and ordered Bacardi and cocktails. He said he served all the liquor to them. When the judge asked him whether that person is present in the court, Baug replied in the positive, thereby identifying Khan.

Also read: Salman hit-and-run case: Eye-witness offered Rs 5 lakh to change statement

Public prosecutor Jagannath Kenjralkar then examined the waiter to try to prove that Khan was drunk. Defence lawyer Shrikant Shivade then cross-examined him, asking him how he could identify Salman when there were hundreds of people in the bar and the lights were dim. He also contended that just because someone ordered alcohol doesn’t mean they would all drink it.

Also read: Mumbai police's 'VIP' treatment to Salman Khan leaves media fuming

'Salman wasn’t there'
Another witness Laxman More, who was then a Mumbai Police constable and a bodyguard for Sohail Khan, stated in court that he was on duty that night. He said at around 3 am, a person came running to him to inform him of the accident.

He added that he then informed Sohail Khan, and that both of them rushed to the spot. According to their statement, they found the car had met with an accident, there was a lot of blood and a person was lying below the car. However, he said the actor wasn’t present on the spot.

When the defence asked him if he had entered this in the police diary – it is sacrosanct to enter the day’s incidents in the diary – More weakened and said he had only made the entry in his personal diary, not the official cops’ records.

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