Actor who ran over man opens driving school

Dubai: Bollywood star Salman Khan has been given a chance to prove his driving skills after courting controversy back home in India.

The actor, who ran over four pavement dwellers in their sleep after a row with his then girlfriend and Bollywood diva Ashwariya Rai in 2003, has been made the face of the Belhasa Driving Center's road safety campaign.

Yesterday, Salman inaugurated Belhasa's new Dh42 million complex near Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, much to the consternation of Indian expats. "How can they have someone facing charges of negligent driving to inaugurate a driving school?" wondered 27-year-old Amrik Singh.

Similar views were expressed by Naila Ahmad, 24 and Umesh Srivastava, 35. "It doesn't go well with the image of the group which is hosting a global road safety conference [Safex 2006] in March," Umesh said.

One person was killed and three others were seriously injured when Salman rammed his four wheeler into a bakery in Mumbai in September 2003. He spent 17 days in custody and the case is still sub-judice.

At the press conference yesterday, Salman conceded that he can't even dream of inaugurating a driving school in India. "Not after what happened back home."

On her part, the group's vice-chairman Sara Ahmad Belhasa said there was nothing wrong in inviting the actor for the inauguration. "He made a mistake, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't deserve a second chance," Sara told Gulf News.