September 29, 2002	Sunday	Rajab 21, 1423

MUMBAI, Sept 28: Bollywood star Salman Khan surrendered on Saturday to police after he allegedly lost control of his car and drove into four people sleeping on the pavement, killing one of them.

The Indian heartthrob’s Toyota Land Cruiser drove off the road in Bombay’s upscale Bandra district around 3am, a police spokesman said.

“Khan was driving the car. One person died on the spot and the injured have been admitted to the hospital,” the spokesman said.

After the accident, Salman left the scene but his police bodyguard went to the Bandra police station and lodged a complaint which said the actor was driving “rashly”, the spokesman added.

He later surrendered at the Bandra police station where he was arrested and taken to a hospital to test for traces of alcohol in his blood, officials said.

A city court released him on bail.

Salman Khan, 36, has appeared in dozens of films, mostly starring as a romantic hero. Known for his off-camera fits of anger, Khan is famous — or notorious — for appearing topless to provide the audience with a full view of his muscular body.

He was recently in the news after he sought police protection following threats from the Indian underworld, which is notorious for extorting the nation’s film industry.

He and fellow actor Chunkey Pandey also appeared in a Mumbai court late last year as witnesses in the long-running case relating to the 1997 murder of film producer Gulshan Kumar.—AFP