Bollywood actor Salman Khan jailed for 5 years for killing a homeless man in a hit & run.

One of India's most successful Bollywood stars has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of killing a homeless man in a drunken hit and run crash.

A Mumbai court this morning convicted Salman Khan of culpable homicide, saying he drove his SUV vehicle into a group of five homeless men who were sleeping on a pavement in September 2002.

The prosecution told the court that Khan was drunk at the time of the incident.

The 49-year-old actor was also given separate terms for negligent driving and causing grievous harm to the victims, but all the sentences will run concurrently, defense lawyers said.
The prosecution said Khan was under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of his SUV and ploughed into the group of homeless people more than 12 years ago.

Khan has all along denied that he was behind the wheel. In April, his driver Ashok Singh told the court that he was driving and lost control of the SUV when one its tires burst.

The lawyers argued for a more lenient sentence, citing Khan's 'medical condition.' No details were immediately available on the nature of Khan's medical complaint.

Within hours of the guilty verdict, Khan was granted a two-day interim bail by the Mumbai High Court. This means Khan will not have to go to jail while his lawyers put together an appeal.

The appeal hearing is scheduled for Friday and, if Khan loses, his sentence is expected to begin immediately.