Mumbai, Jan 29: Procedure was not followed in collecting the blood samples of Salman Khan, his lawyer has told a Mumbai court hearing the 2002 hit-and-run case in which the actor is accused of killing one person and injuring four.
Shrikant Shivde said preservatives were not added to the sample, which would have fermented the blood. He argued that alcohol levels were likely to be higher in a fermented sample. Blood results are crucial as the star also faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. “Blood is preserved at a certain temperature and with specific preservatives added to it. If not preserved properly it will clot and there is no method to test the contents of coagulated blood,” said a senior doctor at a Delhi blood bank, requesting anonymity.
“Alcohol is an entirely different chemical that cannot be produced by blood. Blood, however, is a good medium for bacteria to grow,” the doctor said.
Dr Shashikant Pawar, who was on duty at the JJ Hospital when the filmstar was brought in, was cross-examined by Shivde on Tuesday. The blood samples of 49-year-old Khan were collected on September 29, 2002, a day after he allegedly ran over homeless people sleeping on a pavement.
According to the prosecution, Pawar had examined Khan and collected blood samples in two vials for an alcohol test. One of the vials had only blood and the other had chemicals added to it, as is the procedure. Both are required for a conclusive analysis.
Pawar, in keeping with the hospital’s practice, collected 3ml blood for each of the samples, Shivde said. The doctor violated the medical code that prescribed a sample size of 5ml, he argued.
If guilty, the actor faces 10 years in jail.
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