Salman Khan: Bollywood star sentenced to five years in jail for homeless man hit-and-run

Actor was found guilty by Mumbai court on Wednesday

Indian Bollywood actor Salman Khan (Getty Images)

Bollywood star Salman Khan has been sentenced to five years in prison for killing a homeless man in a hit-and-run in Mumbai.

Khan was charged with culpable homicide over the 2002 incident, where five homeless people including the victim were run over. Three were also seriously injured.

Prosecutors accused Khan of slamming into the homeless people after losing control of his Toyota Land Cruiser following an evening spent drinking at an upmarket bar.

The actor claimed his driver had been driving at the time but a judge in the Mumbai court on Wednesday ruled Khan was behind the wheel and had been drinking before the crash.

His driver testified in court last month that he had been behind the wheel and crashed the vehicle because a tyre had burst, AFP reports.

However, a constable attached to his security team contradicted this version of events and said Khan was intoxicated and lost control of the car.

Khan also faces charges of negligent driving and causing grievous harm to the victims. Culpable homicide carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The 49-year-old can appeal the decision, meaning the case could drag on for years.

Khan has appeared in more than 80 Hindi-language films during his 27-year career. The Associated Press reports that he also has several films in the pipelines and projects worth an estimated 2.5 billion rupees (£26 million).