Salman Khan to be charged with culpable homicide

Salman Khan will be charged with culpable homicide for a hit-and-run incident 10 years ago, an Indian court has ruled.

If convicted of the charge, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan could face up to 10 years in prison.

In September 2002, Salman Khan allegedly drove his car into a bakery in Mumbai city running over five people who were sleeping on the pavement.

One man was killed in the incident. Salman Khan has denied that he was driving the car at the time.

Actor Salman Khan has starred in more than 80 Hindi films, including Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun.

“There is enough evidence to show that the act was not incidental and hence the case should be tried under a more serious section,” Magistrate Vasant Patil said in his order.

The ruling is a setback for the actor as the original charge of homicide was lowered to “death caused by negligence”, which carried a much lighter sentence.

Salman Khan would now have to appear in court on February 11, his lawyer Dipesh Mehta said. The actor would challenge the order in the high court, he added.

Correspondents say the hugely popular and successful actor has often been described as a “bad-boy” heart-throb and is alleged to have mistreated his former actress girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai.

In 2006, Salman Khan was sentenced to five years in prison for hunting a protected deer, but he was released on bail after spending less than a week in jail.