‘Prima facie, I’m not happy with the probe’

There is no reason to be satisfied. Prima facie, I feel the initial action was not upto the mark. That is why I have directed Joint Commissioner of Police Ahmed Javed to conduct a probe into the handling of the case by the Bandra police.

Why the inordinate delay in arresting Salman Khan, in conducting the medical tests and even in recording the statements of the witnesses?

FIRSTLY, I wasn’t told about the incident by the police. The minister is not briefed on accidents unless it is a major one. I learnt about the accident only later in the day, when there were stories in the media. I called up the police commissioner and asked him what had happened. When I felt that there were a few things which needed to be clarified by the local police, I ordered an inquiry.

Apart from the police investigation into the incident, this (the probe conducted by Javed) will be a parallel inquiry and the report is expected within three-four days.

Was there any political pressure on the police to go slow on Salman? There is speculation that a Congress MP intervened.

I WILL not come to any conclusion until Javed submits his report. The officer will find out if there was any attempt to save the accused, if the police erred and if there was political pressure on the Bandra police.

After the goof-up by the police at the very outset, do you think there is a strong case to prosecute the accused?

THE blood test report has come and the experts’ conclusion is that the alcohol content in Salman’s blood was twice the permissible limit. Based on this, the experts have worked out the details of the quantity of liquor the actor had consumed at the time of the accident.

Then, the police have recorded statements of some witnesses from the restaurant where he drank. The police are in search of the persons who were with Salman at the time of accident. The investigation is going on seriously now.

Will the police lodge a case of culpable homicide, like the Delhi police had registered in the BMW hit-and-run case involving Sanjeev Nanda?

I LEAVE it to the police. The investigation is on and they will decide which sections should be applied in the case.

Will you take action against the police officers if they are found guilty?

OF course, I will have to take action against the officers if any of them is found guilty in the inquiry. I am just waiting the report.

There have been contradictory versions by the police about the actor’s vehicle. His police guard has said that the steering wheel got locked while the RTO says there was nothing like that.

THE reports are that the vehicle was in good condition. There was no problem with the steering wheel. The constable deputed for Salman’s security has told the police that the actor had a habit of rash driving. In fact, the constable himself was scared and had requested the actor several times to drive slowly.