salman khan – after verdict
Salman’s guilty! I know that many of Bhai’s fans are still not able to digest that fact, but he is. One hundred percent. The surprising verdict that the entire nation was waiting for almost a decade, came finally, and in favor of the truth.
In a country where the law can be easily manipulated with false witnesses and alibis, seeing a rightful judgment like this is pretty rare. The number of cases that remain pending at any given time of the year increases with each day. And, above all that, when it is a high profile case where the culprit is someone rich and famous, we all know how the case is going to proceed and what’s the verdict is going to be.
The case that was
When Bollywood star Salman Khan committed the crime in 2002, he was initially declared guilty. Being under the influence of alcohol, he rammed the vehicle into the pavement of a bakery shop where 4 people were asleep. The accident claimed the life of one and injured the other three. However, the charges were later dropped until the case reopened afresh in 2013.
Like all the other high profile cases, this one too had its share of sale and purchase of evidence, witnesses turning hostile, and fake cover stories. The constable, Ravindra Patil, who was assigned as a bodyguard of Salman Khan after he complained about receiving threatening calls from the underworld, initially admitted in his statement that the actor was drunk beyond permissible limits. However, he started missing court summons during the proceedings. Another key witness, Sachin Kadam, the security guard of a nearby hotel, also retracted his police statement stating, he never actually saw whether Salman came out of the driver’s seat. When a fresh trial was ordered for the 2002 hit-and-run case, the actor’s driver Ashok Singh confessed that he was driving the Toyota Land Cruiser and not the actor.
The verdict that is
And, in spite of changing the history and geography of the case for the umpteenth time, Salman was convicted for the crime and proven guilty. In a jolt to the actor, the sessions court awarded him a 5 years rigorous imprisonment.
Well, this was obviously not supposed to go well with the fans of the actor and they reacted furiously. Abhijeet, the singer we all barely remember, received the biggest jolt or that is what I perceived through his twitter remark:
Singer Abhijeet’s Twitter reaction on Salman Verdict
Well Abhijeet, you have surely gained Bhai’s lifetime of love, if not the hatred of the rest of the common people.
Abhijeet’s remark also reminds of the movie Jolly LLB, where Boman Irani said something more or less similar: “Footpath kisike sone ki jagah nahi hai”. The witty reply that came from our lawyer to the expression was “Agar footpath sone ke liye nahi hote to gaadi chalane ke liye bhi nahi hote”. Clearly, the movie was inspired by this instant and the many other hit-and-run cases that are regularly committed by our rich and spoiled Indian brats.
Abhijeet later defended his tweet saying he was angry with the ‘careless man’ who was killed. Yeah, that’s generous, Abhijeet, what a reply, but it’s only going to win you the opportunity to meet Bhai in jail.
Every action has an equal and opposite Internet reaction
Salman Khan, the brand ambassador-cum-owner of the apparel brand Being Human became a butt of jokes on the Internet soon after the verdict came. Some of his movie names were turned into memes, which also went viral – ‘Wanted’, ‘Ek tha accident’, ‘Unlucky’, etc., are some of the examples. Hastags of SalmanVerdict was trending the highest on Twitter. One of the best tweets that I liked was “Be Human, don’t waste your sympathies on Salman”
In a world where filmstars are treated no less than Godly creatures roaming the earth (including footpaths – just wanted to be sure), it is only the law that tells us where the power actually lies. And, although the entire hindi film fraternity revolves around our Good Bad Boy, little could that do save him. We already have another bold superstar serving a 2 year imprisonment, i.e., Sanjay Dutt, convicted for illegal possession of arms. Hope Salman joins soon.
Will this verdict serve as an example for other high profile and drunken driving cases in India? I think it will. Do you think the same? Do let us know in the ‘Comments’ section below.