BOMBAY, 2 October — Bollywood actor Salman Khan, whose car ran over four people on a Bombay sidewalk early Sunday killing one of them, may be arrested again with the police considering charging him with culpable homicide.
Following public criticism about how easily Khan had managed to walk out of police custody after causing the fatal road accident, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has ordered a high-powered investigation into the incident.
Bhujbal, who also holds the home portfolio, asked Joint Commissioner of Police Javed Ahmed, who is heading the probe, to prepare a report within a week.
The actor walked off on a bail of only Rs. 950 for rash driving, but police said yesterday Salman may be charged afresh under sections of the Indian Penal Code that deal with culpable homicide and other serious offenses.
Ahmed said the amount of alcohol in Khan’s blood was enough to say that he had been “under the influence of alcohol.”
“The alcohol found in Khan’s blood is more than the legal limit,” he said, but did not reveal the exact amount of alcohol found in his blood.
Activists from an anti-liquor non-government organization meanwhile staged a protest outside Khan’s home. They screamed slogans demanding his re-arrest, witnesses said.
Police have accused Khan of losing control of his Toyota Land Cruiser and driving over the four people sleeping on the sidewalk. The film star has claimed he was not behind the wheel and that the vehicle was being driven by his state-supplied police guard.
