Bollywood superstar Salman Khan faces homicide charge

PanARMENIAN.Net - An Indian court has ruled that Bollywood superstar Salman Khan should face a charge of culpable homicide for a hit-and-run incident 10 years ago, BBC News reported.

In September 2002, he allegedly drove his car into a bakery in Mumbai city, killing a street sleeper.

The actor is currently being tried for the lesser offence of "death caused by negligence". He could face 10 years in prison for the more serious charge. He denies driving the car at the time.

Khan is one of Bollywood's biggest stars and has starred in more than 80 Hindi films, including Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard, Ek Tha Tiger, Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun.

"There is enough evidence to show that the act was not incidental and hence the case should be tried under a more serious section," Magistrate Vasant Patil said in his order.

Khan would now have to appear in court on 11 February, his lawyer Dipesh Mehta said. The actor would challenge the order in the high court, he added.

The hugely popular and successful actor has often been described as a "bad-boy" heart-throb and is alleged to have mistreated his former actress girlfriend, Aishwarya Rai.

In 2006, he was sentenced to five years in prison for hunting a protected deer, but he was released on bail after spending less than a week in jail.