The case against Salman Khan could well have hinged on the statement of one man – constable Ravindra Patil.
But the Bombay High Court on Wednesday raised doubts over Patil’s statement, calling it “wholly unreliable” and even nailed the prosecution for failing to corroborate his statement with evidence.
Even if his statement is to be considered as partially reliable, there has to be corroboration in evidence, which is not existing in this case.Judge AR Joshi
This video was published on May 6 when the verdict on the case was pronounced by the sessions court .
Who Was Constable Ravindra Patil?
He was called a hostile witness by the prosecution and a liar by the defence.
He was training to be a commando in the Special Operations Squad of the Mumbai Police, but ended up disgraced - arrested and dismissed from service by his own department.
He was declared AWOL, even as his family filed a missing person’s complaint. He died a destitute, suffering from tuberculosis in 2007.
Constable Ravindra Patil was 25 years old on the night of September 28, 2002 when a drunk Salman Khan ran over four people sleeping on the footsteps of the American Express Bakery.
Why would the man who first reported the incident to the Bandra Police suddenly go underground?
And why would the reporter who wrote about Patil’s silence suddenly delete his own blog posts?
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)