17-day jail life was educative, says Salman

India Times Oct 27, 2002
NEW DELHI: For Bollywood star Salman Khan, his 17-day jail life in a hit-and-run case was "educative" and helped him put things in perspective.
"Perhaps I needed to go inside... I had always lived a life of luxury, had never seen so much pain and discomfort. The stuff I saw inside helped me put things in perspective," Salman told BBC World's Asia Today programme to be aired on Monday.
Claiming himself innocent and denying he was driving the car, Salman said he was destined to undergo such a crisis. "Nobody could have stopped it. It was destined. I had to see it all. It was unfortunate my car which had never even been scratched before was involved in the accident", he said.
"I was not driving but it was my car... It was an accident, a mistake," he said adding no one was ready to get his side of the story.

Salman said though he always used to pick up people from streets who met with accidents, it was unfortunate that he could not do so when his own car hit somebody.
"That was not because I ran away, I was there and did not want to leave but a mob gathered and started throwing stones. One hit my knee, other my thigh and another my head. I feel very sad when people say I ran away and my brother went to pick up the car stereo. It is completely untrue," he said.

Salman's car met with the accident on September 28, killing one person and injuring four. A sessions court in Mumbai released him on conditional bail on Thursday after 17 days in custody.

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