[shashank.nk]

Mod Note: Adding the original source link with due credit to Charudutt Acharya and fixed some superfluous tags in your post.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/charudutt.a...52991965303640

Read this on Quora. No matter what happens in July or after that, nothing will ever compensate the victims.

I am a HIT & RUN 'survivor'.
In 1998 I was 28. Newly married. A baby was on the way. Small independent writing- directing jobs were trickling in. I was happy.

October 1998, at 2 in the afternoon, not too far from American Bakery (where the Salman Khan thing happened), a young woman from Pali Hill (incidentally daughter of a film industry bigwig) rammed her car full speed into the auto that I was travelling. The auto turned turtle. My left leg was an unrecognizable mess. The auto driver, miraculously scratch-less, extricated me from the auto. The young lady and her friend, who had got out of the car, saw the mess, sat back in the car and took off.

AS pedestrians were figuring out what to do with a bloodied me, a pair of really strong muscular arms lifted me in a swoop and placed me like a gentle baby in the back seat of a car. His car was all red and messy now. He asked me my number. I did not have a cell number (it was 1998). I gave him my home number and my wife's name. He took them down as he drove. I was delirious. I asked him if I would die. He said 'probably not'.
He took me to a nearby hospital and called my wife from a PCO and vanished.

It was long and tough operation. The auto driver came to the hospital and told me that he had got half the car number and given it to the cops. He said sorry that this happened while I was in his auto.

The next day the Samaritan came to meet me. He was an Indian gym instructor in Australia. He told me his story which is quite dramatic and 'filmy'.

Two weeks back he said, his near blind widower father had run out of insulin. Because he lived alone and the medical store owner had a faulty phone, his father decided to go and get it himself. He was knocked down by a speeding vehicle. It was late in the night and desolate. Help came too late. He had died. This saviour of mine, said he had come down from Australia to cremate his father and was going back that night after the 13th day ritual. He said when he saw me on the road, he had to stop for me.

After two and half months of giving my pregnant wife the run around, the cops finally tracked down the girl. She came to see me at home where I was bed ridden. She said she fled because she feared the people on the streets will do something nasty to her. I asked her why she did not go to the cops and tell them this is what happened. She just said nothing not looking me in the eye. I asked her the question again and she just continued to be silent. She gave me a bouquet of flowers, cried a bit and left.

She was never convicted. I did not have medical or life insurance. I got some basic compensation from the car and autorikshaw insurance companies. So that was that.

I had three more surgeries over the next few years. I have never walked straight since. I live with this partial permanent disability, making do with a walking stick.

This accident cost me. Professionally, financially, emotionally and psychologically. But I have been bloody lucky to have a support system and professional work to do, which has pulled me through. Needless to say, poor people get screwed really really bad.

What I want to say is this. There is a HIT and there is a RUN. A hit can happen due to various reasons including elevated levels of alcohol in the blood. But a run happens when there are elevated levels of inhumanity and arrogance in the blood. A run happens when there is confidence in a corrupt system to back you up. A run happens when you know that money and 'Bhai power' can 'settle' things.

Salman Khan ran for 13 years. He first ran from the accident site and then did all money and power could do to keep himself running.

As such, driving drunk is equivalent to giving a loaded AK47 in the hands of a chimpanzee in a crowded street. It's a no brainer don't drink and drive. But it's a token take away from this case.

This case is really not about drunken driving. It's about shameless, cowardly running. A macho star running from the ghosts of victims of a 'single -screen' class that subsidizes his stardom, and a shit scared, spineless film industry running to absurdly defend the star who subsidizes their 100 crore clubs.

So each one of you who is expressing rage over this verdict and standing in solidarity and support for Salman Khan, picture this.
You were at American Bakery buying jelly pastries for your near and dear ones at home. You step out and boom! A drunk Salman Khan knocks you down. Your one leg is a smashed jelly pastry now. He gets out, looks at you, sits in his car and drives off.

For 13 years you go through operations, implant failures, infections. You are in debt. You wake up in cold sweat often. You cry when your kids want to play football with you. And you keep going to court for hearings where all the time the large hearted human being Khan says he was not at the wheels. He does not even recognize you. Maybe he even smiles and waves at you thinking you are his fan.

Then this judgement comes. Salman gets five years. Out of which one year gets pardoned for good behaviour. And in the remaining four years, he gets several privileged and entirely illegal paroles to attend parties and chill out like his good pal 'innocent-gun lover' Sanjay Dutt gets. Or Jessica Lal's baby faced murderer Manu Sharma gets.

2019. Salman is out in four years, back into the lap of luxuries and stardom. Maybe starring in his own bio-pic.

But YOU continue sit in the 'handicap' seat of a bus like you have been doing for the last 18 years. You sit in the corridors of hospital waiting for the doctor to tell you that finally your bone is united. You sit at dance parties. You sit on the beach. You SIT a lot. You sit your entire life out.
So go figure.

[dark.knight]

Even the smallest accidents hurt. As a teenager I liked the idea of riding more than driving, maybe it was peer influence. Thus I got my first gearless scooter (Kinetic). Though I only used it for short rides in weekends & vacations, I enjoyed the feeling of finally being able to carry myself from place to place for the first time. I was as careful as possible strictly keeping to leftmost lanes and at normal speeds. One day during a rain the roads were kind of wet with potholes completely covered in water & before I knew it the rear wheel slid in a sharp shallow pothole throwing the balance off completely & I fell. Since this was in a residential area I felt lucky. I got up & lifted the scooter and rode back again. Inspected a few bruises in leg & a deep wound in the hand which took many weeks to heal and burned quite badly. Thus in one short year my scooter was sold.

Even though I was wearing a helmet & trying to be as safe as possible this accident was kind of a realization for the 18 year old me. I understood the possibilities & dangers of the road even if one follows the rules - this can apply to a pedestrian, a rider or a driver. I also got a good understanding of how tough it is for riders, its exactly because of this I hate all of the riders in the country because even though the high level danger exists they still push their luck to the limits of risk-taking.

We've all debated adequately in threads like "Rants on driving in" and "How to spot Bad Drivers", & I'm sure lakhs of non-members read them as well, what good has it done? Things will never change until one looks at travel as a responsibility.. of keeping oneself & others safe, of not breaking rules & of course of extending a helping hand when one needs it. Car drivers particularly, sometimes lose sight of the dangers of driving because of the insulation it provides.. India is the most unpredictable country in the world to be driving in, animals or human neither deserve to be injured due to careless handling of vehicles. Accidents happen, call it Murphy's Law or whatever & at that time all affected require help from society. In this case prevention is the only key to change, law clearly does nothing.

User manuals of almost every car clearly mention taking 15 minute breaks after a few hours of driving, drinking coffee/refreshments if at all one has to drive when sleepy & of course absolutely staying away from smoking or drinking when driving. Apathy is the biggest evil on the road today. We cant change this accident that has already happened 13 years ago but I hope by making people read this thread we can prevent hundreds of similar accidents from happening.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Isn't 5 years of imprisonment too low for killing one person and injuring (attempting to kill) four more? This is not an accident. He drove his car under the influence of alcohol.

As for the main charge the maximum is 10 years, with apparently two years the norm. So five is neither one end nor the other.

I do not know what is the Alcohol penalty. Remember 0.65 will be legal in the UK (limit 0.80), but not Sweden (0.50). However, remember the blood was taken at least 12 hours after the accident. He must have been far higher at the time.

[srishiva]

Hope someone comes out with a Being Inhuman brand of wear. Not sure how such people can live without shame. Its better to get the punishment it deserves at least.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

Will all due respect to your post, I feel that all the above were being 'staged' for this day of (in)justice. Again, nothing against you or whatever you've posted.

Could be. I mean, for people with other ulterior agenda, a little philanthropism will go a long way in maintaining a balance in credibility. I did not mean that he should be forgiven because he is charitable, but coming to think of it, didn't people claim that tyrants overseening mass genocides could be forgiven if they usher in development and prosperity? So can good work erase past misdeeds? Did Salman really start all those philanthropic activities with the intend to secure an acquittal?

I haven't changed my opinion that he deserves the sentence that he got, but isn't it a reality that people colour their perception of other people's deeds based on whether they see them favourable or not?

[apachelongbow]

If Salman should be forgiven because he is 'being human' and is god's gift to all and sundry, why should Hitler not be given the development prize posthumously? He did develop Germany from a horse cart nation to a modern military power within a short time, raised the standard of living, almost occupied Russia etc etc, so what if he mass murdered a whole race? Get the drift?

[binand]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If Salman should be forgiven because he is 'being human' and is god's gift to all and sundry, why should Hitler not be given the development prize posthumously?

This is called Godwin's law - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

[apachelongbow]

Originally Posted by binand

This is called Godwin's law - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

what i am getting at is, the fake celebrity culture we seem to have inherited from US specifically. How can Madhuri Dixit be qualified to comment on healthy teeth, gums or toothpaste? How can Sachin Tendulkar claim on BMW being the best? How can Shahrukh claim expertise on anything under the sun, from cars to drinks to mangoes etc
We are so prone to celebrating even worshiping these larger than life movie persona, demigods even, that we forget that these people are also human beings, prone to the same fallacies and errors that we all are. It is embarrassing how Salman fans are justifying the killing of these bakery workers, equating them with street dogs and such!! It almost feels we are in the mythological age where in the kings and mighty could do no wrong.

[arun_josie]

Someone who is doing charity wholeheartedly would have acknowledged his mistake and accepted the punishment. In my opinion, law is for everyone and should be treated the same and no one should be allowed to buy their way out of it, either by celebrity status or money power or charity work. But unfortunately here the money power is playing a bigger role.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by apachelongbow

If Salman should be forgiven because he is 'being human' and is god's gift to all and sundry, why should Hitler not be given the development prize posthumously?

I think you did not finish reading my post. I wasn't saying that he should be forgiven. I will let you finish reading what I wrote.

Below ->

Originally Posted by blacksport

I haven't changed my opinion that he deserves the sentence that he got, but isn't it a reality that people colour their perception of other people's deeds based on whether they see them favourable [to them] or not?

[GrammarNazi]

Well, he's acquitted.

Half my faith in the Indian Judiciary was wiped when he got bail in record time, rest half wiped off when I saw Uphaar victims mother cry after the meaningless result of a long legal battle.

Though I honestly respect the law, judiciary has breached a threshold today.

Yeh mera (tolerant) India, I luv my India. :'(

Edit : BTW, happy Human Rights Day!

[Chetan_Rao]

Good riddance I say. Sucks for the victims, but we can at least stop pretending that law & order is equal for everyone (or that it even exists in this country) and stop wasting tax-payer money and resources on this sham.

There was never going to be any justice in this instance, and it's shameful it took 13 years to arrive at that conclusion. There was a really touching satirical drawing of the now-deceased eyewitness constable a few pages ago on this thread that sums up this sorry mess pretty well.

As for the acquitted superstar, his karma will catch up with him someday, and it can't be bought.

[knp]

I had a little hope in our jurisdiction, but today, I just realized that we are only pretending that law is equal to all.

[WorkingGuru]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

...karma will catch up with him someday, and it can't be bought.

Respect your post sir, really.

But TBH this Karma machine seems broken.

Not implying law should be taken in our hands, but what was intended from the judiciary has really not been happening.



Maybe civil society should try scheme things to get this right.

[NPV]

Speaks volumes about our law, corruption and all the bad things plaguing our country today - This case sums up where we are today and the picture is there for the world to see, Mera Bharat Mahaan!
I don't have any other words to say about this verdict!

Originally Posted by knp

I had a little hope in our jurisdiction, but today, I just realized that we are only pretending that law is equal to all.

I guess you mean "judiciary" not "jurisdiction" ?