Salman Khan has no driving licence

A senior police officer said yesterday that film actor Salman Khan, accused of killing a pavement dweller and injuring four others while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, did not have a driving licence.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ahmed Javed, directed by the Maharashtra state government to conduct an inquiry into the accident, yesterday told the press that the actor did not possess a driving licence following police inquiries with the Regional Transport Office (RTO).

He refused to comment further on the accused's medical report or the charges being planned against him. He had earlier said that the police had written to the RTO to suspend the actor's driving licence.

"On Saturday when the police asked him for his licence, the actor was unable to produce it. He has not produced it until now," Javed told AFP.

The wealthy actor is free on bail of only Rs 950.

"Our security guard who was with the actor has said that Khan was drunk and driving at 90 kilometers an hour," a top police officer said.

"And now we more or less know he does not have a driving licence. It definitely makes a case for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The guy just does not have any regard for the law of the land," he said.

In a related development, although Khan's medical report showed traces of alcohol more than the permissible limit, it is not clear whether he could be charged with drunken driving since the blood test was conducted nearly 12 hours after the accident.

As a debate rages, on why Khan was not arrested by Bandra police, under whose jurisdiction the accident occurred, despite causing the death of one, criminal lawyer Majeed Memon has urged the media to wait till the inquiry is completed.

According to him, the facts of the case which have been disclosed so far, clearly show an offence under Section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), causing death by negligence and in addition offences under Section 279 for rash driving and Section 338 for endangering human life.

Moreover, since he disappeared from the scene of the accident without reporting it to the police station, he has committed offences under Section 89 A and 89 B of the Motor Vehicles Act.

However, Memon says these offences have not been registered by the police. And the fact that he does not possess a valid licence and could have been driving under the influence of alcohol compounds the severity of the case.

What should be noted by the media and public however is that "all these offences are bailable and the police officer of a police station is within his powers and rights to release the accused under Section 436 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973.

"It is the officer's legal obligation to release any person who is an accused in all these offences that are bailable. Therefore, I do not find any impropriety or misuse of powers by the police officer."

"Had it not been Salman Khan but a bus driver, a taxi driver or just any common man, the incident would not have made news as in this case," Memon added.

"But since a senior police officer of the rank of joint police commissioner is collecting various pieces of circumstantial evidence, it is unwise for the media to create a hysteria before the inquiry report is published."

Even though it is being argued that Khan should be charged under Section 304 of the IPC which calls for punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Memon thinks "it is far too grave a charge in comparison with 304 A under which the punishment is imprisonment for two years or a fine."