MUMBAI — Bollywood star Salman Khan was granted two days interim bail on Wednesday by the Bombay high court, hours after being sentenced to five years in prison by a sessions court for killing a homeless man in a 2002 hit-and-run crash. Sessions court judge DW Deshpande said all the charges against the star, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, had been proved. Khan was taken into custody after the sentencing. The judge said 49-year-old Khan was driving the car at the time of the accident and the defence's contention that his driver Ashok Singh was at the wheel was not probable. “You were driving the car without a licence and you were under the influence of alcohol,” Deshpande told a courtroom packed with Khan's family members and journalists. Khan, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans, broke down on hearing the verdict and witnesses said there were tears in his eyes. Khan's family members too were upset and his two sisters also broke down in the courtroom. The 49-year-old actor was also given separate terms for negligent driving and causing grievous harm to the victims, but all the sentences will run concurrently, defense lawyers said. The lawyers argued for a more lenient sentence, citing Khan's “medical condition.” No details were immediately available on the nature of Khan's medical complaint. The prosecution told the court that Khan was drunk when he rammed his SUV into a group of homeless people sleeping on a sidewalk in September 2002. Khan has all along denied that he was behind the wheel. In April, his driver Ashok Singh told the court that he was driving and lost control of the SUV when one its tires burst. But Judge Deshpande dismissed the actor's claim and accused him of driving the car under the influence of alcohol and then fleeing. Khan also faces trial in a separate case for allegedly killing two rare deer in a western India wildlife preserve 16 years ago. He is one of Bollywood's most popular stars, appearing in more than 90 Hindi-language films in his 27-year career. Huge crowds gathered outside Khan's house in south Mumbai for a glimpse of the star as he emerged from his apartment block surrounded by security guards. Scores of television crews and reporters followed the actor's car and thronged the building as the court gave its verdict in a case that has been closely watched by millions of Khan's fans in India and abroad. Television channels said Khan looked downcast during the court proceedings and teared up when the judge pronounced the verdict. Khan's brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail, were present in the courtroom, which was packed with other relatives and Khan's friends from the film industry. — Agencies
