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<\/p>\nSalman’s Case ;The Other Side : The Story of Constable Ravinder Patil : The Price Of Telling Truth : blog of Soumaditya Bannejee being circulated in e mails circuit<\/p>\n
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“An offer I couldn’t refuse”<\/p>\n
I have always been a big fan of Salman Khan and will always be. But, no one\u00a0 can be bigger in the court of law. There is always two sides of a\u00a0 coin. One we already know about the humanitarian work done by Salman Khan. The\u00a0 other side is explained in the below link. There were two deaths in the\u00a0 whole case. One because of which everything started and other which got\u00a0 unnoticed and a silent but painful one. His name was Ravindra Patil, who was a\u00a0 constable and was with Salman Khan in the car while the accident took place. He\u00a0 died due to depression in 2007.<\/p>\n
[FIRST BLOG]<\/p>\n
June 26, 2013 by SOUMYADIPTA BANERJEE<\/p>\n
THE WRETCHED WITNESS<\/p>\n
Everybody knows that one person was killed and four others were injured when\u00a0 an inebriated Salman Khan rammed his Landcruiser onto the steps of A1 Bakery at\u00a0 the turning near Mehboob Studios in Bandra in the wee hours of September 28,\u00a0 2002.<\/p>\n
But perhaps we don\u2019t remember that the incident claimed one more life later.\u00a0 In the course of the case another strapping young man died a slow but painful\u00a0 death on the cold floors of a government hospital at Sewri in Mumbai. He had\u00a0 nobody from his family around during his final hours.<\/p>\n
Such was the misfortune of this man that nobody from his family even came\u00a0 forward to claim the body immediately after his death. They were not even aware\u00a0 that he had died.<\/p>\n
The handsome young man was reduced to a bag of bones at the time of his\u00a0 death. Not too many people came near him because the man was suffering from\u00a0 acute tuberculosis and would spit blood often.<\/p>\n
He never had visitors in the last three weeks of his life, barring a\u00a0 newspaper reporter who found out who he was.<\/p>\n
This man, who was not even spared the pain in his death, was the prime\u00a0 witness of the 2002 drunk driving case involving Salman Khan. He saw it all\u00a0 happen in front of his eyes.<\/p>\n
Today I will tell you the story of constable Ravindra Patil, the unlikely\u00a0 hero who will perhaps never be rewarded for what he has done. But if any justice\u00a0 is served to the forty-something Nurullah Mehboob Sharif, who was crushed under\u00a0 the wheels of Salman\u2019s Landcruiser, it will be because of this Mumbai police\u00a0 constable\u2019s statement as prime witness in the case.<\/p>\n
Sadly, Patil was under immense pressure while acting as a prime witness and\u00a0 his health started deteriorating rapidly. To compound his woes, Patil took to\u00a0 drinking and his health continued failing.<\/p>\n
We will now tell you what was Patil doing in Salman\u2019s Landcruiser that\u00a0 fateful night.<\/p>\n
Why was Ravindra Patil with Salman that night?<\/p>\n
Around January or February in 2002, Salman Khan had filed a report with the\u00a0 Mumbai Police about receiving two threatening calls from the underworld. After\u00a0 talking to the Bollywood star, the Mumbai Police came to the conclusion that\u00a0 there is a genuine threat to Salman Khan\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
It may be mentioned here that the Mumbai Police is also willingly or\u00a0 unwillingly a part of the appear-and-appease brigade of Bollywood ever since\u00a0 they decided to add a dash of glamour to their annual function where all the\u00a0 A-list actors come and dance for free. Bollywood stars usually rub shoulders\u00a0 with the top brass of the force.<\/p>\n
I am not trying to say here that Bollywood stars are given preferential\u00a0 treatment all the time but it is common knowledge in Mumbai that any complaint\u00a0 or \u201capprehension\u201d from any Bollywood A-lister is viewed with utmost seriousness\u00a0 among the Mumbai Police top brass. The police force is always there at the beck\u00a0 and call of Bollywood stars which is really a good thing, I must say.<\/p>\n
Okay, moving on to the story again.<\/p>\n
The Mumbai police, as expected, responded to the complaint immediately and\u00a0 assigned a 24-year-old constable, Ravindra Patil as an unarmed bodyguard for the\u00a0 actor.<\/p>\n
Patil was chosen for the job because he was a handsome young man, who was fit\u00a0 enough to shadow Salman Khan at public events.<\/p>\n
Patil\u2019s friends have told the media that he used to take several of his\u00a0 friends to meet Salman Khan when he was on duty. In short, Patil enjoyed his job\u00a0 of shadowing one of the most sought-after Bollywood stars.<\/p>\n
Salman and Patil seemed to have a good equation and the few odd months that\u00a0 Patil was there with him, everything seemed hunky dory.<\/p>\n
Patil was a constable of 1998 batch and was attached to the Protection Unit\u00a0 of Mumbai Police. He had two elder brothers who were police constables too \u2014\u00a0 Devendra Patil and Prakash Patil \u2014 all between the age of 32-35 years at that\u00a0 time.<\/p>\n
On that fateful night of September 28, Salman Khan was drinking at JW Mariott\u00a0 hotel in Juhu, while Patil was sitting in the actor\u2019s SUV outside the hotel.<\/p>\n
It was also reported in some media that Salman had a driver with him that\u00a0 night but he was advised to go home because it was getting too late. Post\u00a0 midnight, when Salman emerged from JW Mariott, there were two other people along\u00a0 with the actor that night \u2013 Constable Patil and singer Kamal Khan.<\/p>\n
What happened after Salman rammed the SUV<\/p>\n
Salman denied all the charges after he was taken into custody the next day.\u00a0 It was reported that Patil told the police that Salman was so stunned to see\u00a0 people wailing and crying under the wheels of his car that he chose to flee the\u00a0 spot rather than take the victims to the hospital.<\/p>\n
The victims were carried to the hospital by the neighbours and Salman was\u00a0 arrested eight hours later. After his arrest, his blood sample was collected for\u00a0 testing. The sample revealed 65 milligrams of alcohol eight hours later which\u00a0 clearly indicated that he was drunk at the time of the incident.<\/p>\n
So, it was clear from the very beginning that the case hinged on the\u00a0 statements of Patil, who was the sole eye-witness of the incident.<\/p>\n
The entire case hinged on three crucial points mentioned by Patil in his\u00a0 signed statements to the police after the incident : (a) Salman was drunk, (b)\u00a0 Salman was driving the SUV at more than 100 kilometres per hour and (c) Patil\u00a0 had warned Salman to slow down but he chose to ignore the advice.<\/p>\n
Salman denied Patil\u2019s claims later<\/p>\n
After Salman Khan was presented in court, he denied that he was driving the\u00a0 vehicle or that he was under the influence of alcohol.<\/p>\n
The trial court initially framed charges of culpable homicide against the\u00a0 actor primarily based on the testimony of Patil, but the case soon started to\u00a0 develop twists and turns and some witnesses allegedly changed their\u00a0 statements.<\/p>\n
The case was taking a turn but Ravindra Patil hadn\u2019t changed his statement\u00a0 ever \u2014 he maintained during his deposition that Salman was at the wheels of the\u00a0 car and that he was drunk.<\/p>\n
But however, in the days that followed, the court found that the charge of\u00a0 culpable homicide was untenable against Salman and it imposed a much lighter\u00a0 charge of Rash and Negligent Driving against the star which carried a maximum\u00a0 sentence of two years as opposed to a homicide charge under which you can be\u00a0 jailed for 10 years.<\/p>\n
In the next post we will tell you the sad episode of Ravindra Patil and why\u00a0 he was treated like a criminal and sent to jail despite being the prime witness\u00a0 of the case.<\/p>\n
[SECOND ONE]<\/p>\n
June 27, 2013 by SOUMYADIPTA BANERJEE<\/p>\n
Ravindra Patil: The death of a messenger<\/p>\n
In India, the testimony of the prime witness is considered the most important\u00a0 document in a criminal case, which often influences the final verdict.<\/p>\n
In the 2002 hit-and-run case of Salman Khan, the man who found himself in the\u00a0 epicenter of the controversy, was the prime witness of the case \u2014 constable\u00a0 Ravindra Patil.<\/p>\n
Those close to Patil admitted that he was under enormous pressure to change\u00a0 his statement.<\/p>\n
There were many who wanted Patil to change his statement. They preferred that\u00a0 Patil maintain that Salman leaned back to listen to him seconds before he lost\u00a0 control of the wheel. This would mean that the accident was caused by a \u2018human\u00a0 error\u2019 and not because he was drunk. Some people wanted him to say that Salman\u00a0 was not drunk at the time of the accident.<\/p>\n
Whatever be the case, Patil did not change his statement till the last\u00a0 day.<\/p>\n
It was unclear who was putting pressure on Patil \u2014 some say they were all\u00a0 \u2018well-wishers\u2019 of Salman Khan from the police force while others say that those\u00a0 talking to Patil were Salman\u2019s common friends from the film industry. Whoever\u00a0 they were, the pressure tactic seemed to be working as Patil was showing signs\u00a0 of a nervous break-down.<\/p>\n
Why was Ravindra Patil so vulnerable?<\/p>\n
Patil was a constable and hence belonged to the lowest rung in the police\u00a0 force. He admitted numerous times that he was under pressure and he would always\u00a0 try to duck the media.<\/p>\n
During 2006, when the examination of witnesses was on, Salman had hired the\u00a0 best lawyers in Mumbai who were all charged up to cross-examine Patil. But then,\u00a0 something unexpected happened. Patil just ran away one evening. His brother\u00a0 lodged a missing report about Patil at a local police station.<\/p>\n
Day after day, Patil chose to skip court dates because he didn\u2019t want to face\u00a0 the defence lawyer. Soon, Patil came under scrutiny of the court because he\u00a0 remained absent at the court hearings. The court proceedings were stuck because\u00a0 Patil was absent in the witness-box. It also came to light that he had run away\u00a0 without applying for leave.<\/p>\n
In a strange twist of fate, a man who had actually lodged the first\u00a0 information report against Salman Khan now had an arrest warrant issued against\u00a0 him for not turning up at court hearings. The arrest warrant was issued after he\u00a0 failed to appear for five consecutive court dates.<\/p>\n
As the judge ordered that he be arrested and produced in court, his seniors\u00a0 at the police force simultaneously approved that Patil be sacked from his job\u00a0 because he was absent from duty. His seniors chose to ignore the fact that\u00a0 technically Patil was \u2018missing\u2019 and not \u2018absent\u2019 according to their own\u00a0 records.<\/p>\n
Nobody was interested in knowing why he had run away from his house. Or, why\u00a0 the same person who was so forthcoming in lodging a complaint against a\u00a0 Bollywood star like Salman Khan, didn\u2019t want to take the witness-box. Patil was\u00a0 never put under any witness protection programme.<\/p>\n
Patil was sent to Arthur Road jail with hardened criminals<\/p>\n
Like how they deal with a hardened criminal, a task force was prepared to nab\u00a0 Patil and find out where he was \u2018hiding\u2019. Finding him was easier than anybody\u00a0 had thought because Patil was not hiding anywhere. Ravindra Patil was actually\u00a0 staying in a small hotel in Mahabaleswar, just a few kilometres away from\u00a0 Mumbai. He would come to Mumbai often to meet his wife and family. He was not on\u00a0 the run from the police and was going around telling everybody that he wanted to\u00a0 stay away from the Salman Khan case.<\/p>\n
He had repeatedly requested his colleagues in Mumbai Police to work out a way\u00a0 so that he can be spared from the case. The problem was: He was the prime\u00a0 witness and without him the case didn\u2019t stand a chance in a court of law.<\/p>\n
How many of you hate going to court? How many of you don\u2019t like how witnesses\u00a0 are grilled in criminal cases by defence lawyers? Well, if I go by Patil\u2019s\u00a0 example, then all of you should be put in jail. Believe it or not, Ravindra\u00a0 Patil was sent to jail because of this \u2018crime\u2019.<\/p>\n
The special police team swooped down on him, arrested him and produced at the\u00a0 court, the next day. The court sent him to Arthur Road jail, the biggest jail of\u00a0 Mumbai where most of the high-profile criminals are lodged.<\/p>\n
In Arthur Road jail, Ravindra Patil was incarcerated in a separate cell like\u00a0 they would treat an armed dacoit or a serial killer. Patil submitted fervent\u00a0 pleas that he doesn\u2019t want to be grouped with criminals at the Arthur Road jail\u00a0 but the court was in no mood to relent.<\/p>\n
Twice, Patil filed applications saying that he is a witness and that he be\u00a0 held at Unit nine of the Crime Branch and twice the court ignored the\u00a0 application. In his applications, Patil went on record saying that he went\u00a0 absconding as he was mentally disturbed at the thought of being cross-examined\u00a0 by defence lawyers. But nobody seemed to be interested in what he was\u00a0 saying.<\/p>\n
If the courts didn\u2019t pay heed to his pleas, his employers \u2014 the Mumbai Police\u00a0 \u2014 seemed to be on some revenge spree. A \u2018missing\u2019 Patil suddenly became an\u00a0 \u2018absconding\u2019 Patil in their own files and subsequently sacked from his job. This\u00a0 junior-most employee in the force tried every trick in the book to convince his\u00a0 senior officers that he should not be sacked from his job. But nobody was ready\u00a0 to listen.<\/p>\n
A witness was suddenly at the receiving end of it all. Life was dealing this\u00a0 grand witness blows after blows while Salman Khan delivered hits after hits at\u00a0 the box office.<\/p>\n
After Patil was let out of jail, he found himself in a strange situation \u2014\u00a0 his family had disowned him and the Mumbai Police was not ready to take him\u00a0 back. Patil didn\u2019t know what to do \u2014 suddenly he was the victim because he saw\u00a0 the accident and spoke about it.<\/p>\n
A broken man by then, Ravindra Patil went missing again.<\/p>\n
Patil was finally discovered at the Sewri Municipal hospital in 2007. Patil\u00a0 was begging on the streets of Mumbai before he landed up at the hospital. The\u00a0 years of acute stress coupled with heavy drinking had made his body weak. Worse,\u00a0 he had contracted a drug-resistant tuberculosis which fast tracked him towards\u00a0 an inevitable end.<\/p>\n
Patil wanted to get back in the police force but he was just a bag of bones\u00a0 lying on bed number 189 of ward number four on the fourth-floor of Sewri TB\u00a0 Municipal Hospital. His family members were not aware where he was and nobody\u00a0 had come to see him for a year.<\/p>\n
Constable Ravindra Patil died on October 4, 2007.<\/p>\n
Even after his death, there was nobody to take back his body. The friend who\u00a0 had admitted him to the hospital was so scared that he didn\u2019t even inform his\u00a0 family. In the end, his brothers came forward to perform the last rites.<\/p>\n
Before his death, Patil spoke to his friend expressing his wish to get back\u00a0 to the force again while throwing up blood on the cold floors of the Sewri\u00a0 Municipal hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cI stood by my statement till the end, but my department did not stand by me.\u00a0 I want my job back, I want to survive. I want to meet the police commissioner\u00a0 once,\u201d were his last words.<\/p>\n
Clearly, even God chose not to hear him.<\/p>\n
Ravindra Patil never rested in peace.<\/p>\n
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Salman’s Case ;The Other Side : The Story of Constable Ravinder Patil : The Price… more