Mumbai police seek to learn from 'mistakes' in Salman case

Nearly a month after Bollywood megastar Salman Khan was acquitted in the 2002 accident case, Mumbai Police have done some soul-searching on alleged lapses that led to the legal defeat, officials said on Tuesday.

For starters, police top brass issued a circular to all police stations on the procedural lapses and discrepancies in police case as vividly brought out in the final judgment of the Bombay High Court that quashed the case against the actor.

The circular will serve as a veritable guideline to police personnel on how to probe, in future, accidents and accident-related cases, especially involving high-profile celebrities, actors or businessmen, an official explained while declining to be named.

The Maharashtra government has informed the high court that it would challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court soon and the police are currently preparing a watertight appeal.

The circular issued by Additional Police Commissioner (Crime) K.M.M. Prasanna's office asks all police officers to learn from the alleged mistakes of the investigating team in the Salman Khan case and ensure that these are not repeated.

Salman Khan was found guilty by the sessions court in May 2016 and convicted for, among others charges, culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sentenced to five-year imprisonment.

On December 10, 2015, in a hard-hitting judgment, the Bombay High Court acquitted him of all charges and quashed the lower court verdict.