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Eyewitness in Salman case fails to appear

Mumbai: An eyewitness in the hit-and-run case involving actor Salman Khan on Thursday failed to turn up in the trial court which deferred the matter to March two for further hearing.

This is the third time eyewitness Ravindra Patil has failed to appear. A non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him for non-appearance earlier is pending execution, Salman's lawyer Dipesh Mehta told PTI.

The court had issued the NBW against Patil, police guard of the actor, on February 7 when he failed to turn up. Again on February 10 Patil did not appear and the court re-issued the warrant by asking him to appear on February 16.

The court has taken a serious view of the absence of the witness and warned him to appear on March two without fail.

The actor is charged with killing one person and injuring four by ramming his car into a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002.

The deposition of Patil is considered significant as he had reportedly told the police that he had advised the actor not to drive rashly or else he would meet with an accident.

Patil also told the police that Salman was under the influence of liquor and did not pay heed to his advise. However, in cross-examination Patil told the defence lawyer that Salman was quite normal while driving and that he had raised an alarm that the wheel was not turning when the actor's vehicle turned to avoid a pole coming in the way.

Salman has denied the charges of getting drunk before driving. PTI

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Eyewitness in Salman case fails to appear

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