RTO inspector points out anomaly in logbook entry

A day after a witness deposed that Salman Khan did not have a licence when he allegedly rammed his car into a pavement in Bandra, killing one and injuring four others, the witness on Tuesday told the court that as per the licence registration record book, apart from the actor’s entry dated August 17, 2004, all other entries in the that log book pertained to licenses issued on January 5 and 6, 2004.

The prosecution witness is an assistant inspector at the Regional Transport Office from Andheri, who told the court that Khan received his licence, two years after the accident. “As per records, he (Khan) was issued a licence on August 17, 2004,” the witness said.
Explaining the reason for the anomaly, the witness told the court that, “He had no reason for him to write Khan’s entry in between the entries made for the licenses issued on January 5 and 6, 2004.”

The special public prosecutor had also pointed that the portion adjacent to  Khan’s licence entry which had his photograph and his signature, was torn off. “I cannot say why that portion of the register was torn or who tore it,” the witness told the court.

During his cross examination by defence lawyer Srikant Shivde, the witness also told the court that without Khan’s licence number, he could not ascertain whether Khan had a licence prior to 2004. The witness had earlier deposed that Khan was issued a “new licence” in 2004.