In the cross-examination of the doctor who had conducted the medical examination on Salman Khan after the alleged 2002 hit-and-run case told the court on Saturday that he could not distinguish between the two labels that were on the vials submitted by him to the Forensics Laboratory. When shown the labels to identify the witness told the court that “I cannot say which label was wrapped on the vial with potassium oxalate (an anti-coagulant preservative)” as there were no indications on the labels to suggest which sample contained preservatives. On January 23, the doctor assigned to clinically examine Khan said in his deposition that twelve hours after the actor allegedly rammed into a pavement in Bandra, killing one person and injuring four, “he was smelling of alcohol”. However, the doctor, who is the 20th witness in the hit-and-run trial, on Thursday also told the court that according to the clinical examination, he was not “under the influence of alcohol”. According to the chemical analyst who had earlier deposed before the court, 62-mg alcohol was found per 100-ml blood in the samples sent to him from J J Hospital. The witness had also told the court that he wasn’t sure whether the labels were removed from the vial containing oxalate or the vial containing the plain sample. “I cannot say if the labels were removed from the vial containing oxalate or the vial containing the plain sample,” the witness told the court. The judge recorded the statement of the witness where he said that there was no seal on the flap of the label and that there was no mention of the samples handed over to the two police officers. During the cross-examination, defence lawyer Shrikant Shivde had pointed out to the court that it was not written anywhere whether the vials and the envelopes, containing the medical examination results, were sealed and opened only by the chemical analyst. “There is no endorsement in the case papers that the samples being handed over to PC 2985 and PSI Salunkhe were sealed,” Shivde said. Pointing out the doctor’s earlier testimony, Shivde said the witness had told the magistrate court that “it is possible that the bandage strip can be pasted or opened from the sealed sample,” hence, suggesting a possibility of the samples and the results being tampered with. Judge D W Deshpande said chemical analyst Bala Shankar, who had earlier deposed before the court, would be cross examined on February 12. The prosecution’s case is that a car driven by Khan rammed into a bakery on September 28, 2002, in suburban Bandra, killing one person and injuring four others who were sleeping on the pavement. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
