Five years after Salman Khan rammed his car into the American Express Laundry in Bandra, victims' families are still to receive their compensation.
Five years after Salman Khan rammed his car into the American Express Laundry in Bandra, victims' families are still to receive their share of the Rs19 lakh the actor paid in compensation. Anshika Misra and Renni Abraham report
Sometimes justice done fails to translate into justice delivered. A prompt order of the Bombay High Court asking actor Salman Khan to deposit an interim compensation of Rs19 lakh within a fortnight of his September 2002 hit-and-run incident, is yet to benefit accident victims.
One person was killed and four others injured when an allegedly drunk Salman rammed his Land Cruiser into the American Express Laundry in Bandra on September 28, 2002. Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL), the HC on October 7 ordered Salman to deposit Rs19 lakh as compensation. However, five years later, the victims and kin of the deceased are still to receive the amount, which lies mired in red tape.
Of the total compensation, Rs10 lakh was to be paid to the heir of Nurullah Sharif, an A-1 Bakery employee, who died in the accident. His mother Fatima, 75, filed an application in November 2002 claiming to be his heir and sought to withdraw the money.
Shortly after, Nurullah's divorced wife filed an application claiming the compensation on behalf of her 15-year-old son, Feroze. Nurullah's brother too jumped in and staked his claim to the money.
As a result, have received the amount, and the HC is still to decide the 'real' claimant. "This is a classic example of greed and administrative apathy hindering the path of justice," says senior lawyer Niteen Pradhan, who argued the PIL filed by three citizens seeking adequate and timely compensation for the victims.
The four people injured in the accident - Abdul Shaikh and Muslim Shaikh, who were to receive Rs3 lakh each, and Munnu Khan and Kalim Shaikh, who were to get Rs1.5 lakh each - have also not received their share of compensation as verification of their identity is still pending. "We wanted to ensure that the victims got immediate relief and
money for treatment and rehabilitation. The purpose of the PIL stands defeated today," Pradhan says.
Those injured were employees of A-1 Bakery. However, inquiries at the bakery about whereabouts drew a blank. "They no longer work here and we don't know their addresses," an employee said.
When DNA dug out Fatima's address from court records and tried locating her one-room tenement in Bandra's Bharat Nagar slum on Saturday, we were informed that she has moved to Govandi.
People remember her as "the mother of the man (allegedly) killed by Salman". They directed us to Fatima's sister Gori Bi who after some prodding, parted with the telephone number of Hanif, another relative. "Fatima is now too old to run around for the money. And if we seem too eager to help, we will be accused of wanting a share," Hanif told DNA.
Pradhan, however, offers some hope. "We could try and expedite the matter if the claimants approach us and are agreeable to a compromise," he says.
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