Khan was arrested in September 2002 for rash and negligent driving after his car ran over workers sleeping outside Bandra's A1 bakery, killing one. Last August, a court charged him with culpable homicide after examining 17 witnesses. The court had said prima facie Khan had the knowledge that his act of rash driving, particularly after drinking, might result in death of people in accident. Khan's counsel then said since a fresh charge was added, he deserved a retrial.
These five witnesses are crucial for the prosecution, especially since Khan's police bodyguard, Constable Ravindra Patil, the complainant in the case who had testified that Khan was drunk at the time of the accident, is no more. Patil contracted tuberculosis and died of a heart attack in October 2007. Sources in Bandra police said an old-timer working at A1 Bakery helped them track the witnesses to a village in UP.
"The witnesses at first were reluctant to come to Mumbai," said an officer from Bandra police. "They said they had lost interest in the case and did not wish to get entangled in legal battles with anyone. But we eventually convinced them to come back." The hunt for the victims began when summons sent to the addresses they had given returned undelivered. The police then sought the old worker's help and he gave the phone number of one of the relatives of a witness.
When the police team tracked this witness to UP, he led them to the others who were scattered all over the state. They were then issued summons in person and were told to be present in the court on April 28. The police, who kept a close watch on the witnesses,brought three of them to Mumbai on Thursday and have kept them at a safe location. Aditional CP Milind Bharambe, said, "They are with us and will depose in the court on Monday."
The other two victims have also been identified and their location traced. One of them is in Karnataka while the fourth is still in Mumbai working in a bakery in the central suburbs.
