Not suprising at all.

Manish Khatau (21), son of Khatau mill owner Mahendra Khatau, in last year’s hit-and-run case was set free by the Sewri fast track court.

Judge AU Thuse gave a clean chit to Manish, as the prosecution couldn’t prove the charges against him. Khatau was charged under section 307 (attempt to murder) and section 333 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt to public servant on duty).

Manish had run his car over a police constable at Marine Drive in south Mumbai on August 15 last year. The cop was hospitalised for three weeks after a part of his skull caved in and damaged the base of his brain. Unlike other hit-and-run cases, Khatau wasn’t drunk.

However what really stand out in this case is that this was the first time that a road accident case was registered under section 307. The police did not charge him with rash and negligent driving and it was this reason why the court acquitted him.

Defence lawyer Girish Kulkarni said, “Although all the nine prosecution witnesses supported their case, they contradicted each other, while describing the position of the police officers present at the time of the accident.”

For all we know, registering the case under section 307 could have been a cooked-up plan between the accused and the others in-charge. Once again a rich man’s son walks away laughing at out justice system.

We can surely expect a similar verdict in this case too.