Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s lawyer argued on Wednesday in the Bombay High Court that the police might have tampered with the actor’s Toyota Land Cruiser Lexus which was involved in the 2002 hit-and-run accident.

The Bombay High Court is currently hearing Salman’s appeal against the conviction and five-year sentence for crashing his car into a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, 2002, killing one person and injuring four others.

While four to six prosecution witnesses testified at the trial that the front left tyre of the car had burst but the RTO officer who inspected the car said the tyre was in good condition but had only deflated, Salman’s lawyer Amit Desai said, arguing before Justice A R Joshi.

“We strongly believe that the tyre, a vital piece of evidence, has been tampered with,” said advocate Desai.

He further said that Ashok Singh, the actor’s family driver who was driving the car (the trial court rejected this claim and held that Salman was driving the car) went to the Bandra police station and gave his version of the accident.

“If he (the RTO officer) was there, he should have found out that the tyre had burst….And if he was there and has seen something else, someone might have replaced the tyre,” the lawyer argued.

“The (police) officers knew what exactly had happened, particularly after what Ashok Singh had stated….PW-27 (the investigating officer) says he interrogated Singh but his statement was not recorded…Why? And now, he is told (by the prosecution) that he comes after 13 years! (to give evidence in the court),” said advocate Desai.

In the wake of reports that college students were taking abortion pills, the Bombay High Court asked Maharashtra Government to inform what steps it would take to stop the online sale of drugs dispensed without a proper doctor’s prescription.

Under the provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945, drugs prescribed in Schedule H cannot be sold without a doctor’s prescription.

Such drugs include anti-pregnancy pills, sleeping tablets and abortion pills, according to a petition seeking a ban on online sale of these medicines dispensed without a doctor’s prescription.

A bench of Justice Naresh Patil and S B Shukare asked the State to seek instructions and inform tomorrow what steps would it take in this regard.

The petitioner, Mayuri Patil, is a lecturer in S K Somaiya college who told the court that college students were misuing the law and buying drugs with a fake doctor’s prescription.

Citing an instance, she said that one of her students had absented herself from the classes for quite some time.

Later, she learnt that the student had become pregnant and had taken abortion pills given in Schedule H of the Act through online purchase by submitting a fake prescription of a doctor.

In order to detect such fraud practice, the Court had advised the petitioner to get the same medicine through online purchase by using a fake prescription of a doctor and place the tablets before it.

Accordingly, the exercise was undertaken by the petitioner who placed the drugs before the court today to demonstrate that medicines can be bought with a fake doctor’s prescription.

The court raised a query from the petitioner as to how the drugs were supplied in an online purchase. To this, the petitioner replied that it was through a courier service.

The court then told the State Government that just as currency notes and narcotics substances were banned in a courier service, the drugs prescribed under schedule H should also be prohibited from being supplied through a courier.

The petitioner contended that online sale of banned drugs could be misused by teenagers as was done in this case.

The State Government would inform the HC tomorrow what steps it had planned to stop sale of such drugs without a proper doctor’s prescription.

As part of the ongoing raids launched against the hoarders in Mumbai around ten days back, the Controller of Rationing and Director of Civil Supplies has so far seized 61,250 metric tonnes of dal and pulses worth Rs. 440 crore.

“As many as 27 godowns in Mumbai and Thane have been raided since October 19,” an official release issued said.

The state government, on October 19, imposed restrictions on stocking of dal, edible oil and oil seeds to keep a check on prices of these essential commodities during the upcoming festive season.

Out of the 27 godowns raided, action has been taken on owners of 18 godowns as per the Essential Commodities Act 1955.

Opposition Congress and NCP have been targeting the BJP-led Maharashtra government on steep prices of tur dal, which has crossed Rs. 200 per kg in Mumbai.

In view of the ensuing festive season, the Mumbai police have issued an order prohibiting any assembly of five or more person, while restricting individuals from taking out procession in the city for 14 days, effective from this October 30.

According to the order issued, “Any assembly of five or more person, any procession of any person and any use of loudspeaker, amplifying instrument, musical band and bursting of crackers in any procession by the assembly is prohibited and anyone found in the violating the order will be subjected to face investigation and legal proceedings.”

The order will come into the effect from October 30, 2015 (00:01 hrs) and would remain effective till November 13, 2015 (24:00 hrs).

Mumbai Police Spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni said the decision has been taken to maintain law and order during the festival season.

He clarified that the order does not restricts anyone from bursting crackers.

“With festivals just around the corner, lot of political agitations are taking place and more such gatherings are expected to be held. So, considering the law and order situation, such a decision has been taken,” Kulkarni said.

The prohibitory order, however, will not be applicable on assembling during a marriage, funeral or statutory meetings of companies of clubs, co-operative societies and other societies/associations.

The restriction would also be not applicable on assembly of people at cinema houses, place of public entertainment, court of laws, government offices, semi-government offices, local bodies, schools, colleges, academic places, factories, shops, establishments etc, the order read.

The decision by the Mumbai Police has been taken by exercising the powers with it under section 37 of Maharashtra Police Act, 1951.

Indrani Mukerjea, one of the three prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has been struck by dengue fever, Byculla Women’s prison authorities informed a Metropolitan Magistrate court here on Wednesday.

“We have informed the court that Mukerjea is suffering from suspected dengue and her platelet levels have gone down to 65,000,” a jail official said.

He further told that doctors from JJ hospital are attending to Indrani in the prison and if it is imperative to admit her, then she will be taken to the hospital.

The jail officer’s report, submitted to Magistrate RV Adone, came after the court directed the prison authorities to produce Indrani in view of the application made by CBI seeking her voice samples.

The central probe agency had told the court that it had got hold of some call records which purportedly featured her voice, and therefore it wanted her voice sample for verification.

Earlier this month, traces of cocaine were found in the urine samples of Indrani, who is lodged in a Maharashtra jail.

Indrani was then rushed from Byculla Jail to the Sir JJ Hospital, where she was under treatment for five days.

CBI Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it has zeroed in on two suspects, who are members of right wing group Sanatan Sanstha, and have put them under surveillance for their alleged involvement in the murder of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar.

CBI advocate Rebecca Gonsalves submitted the two names to a division bench of Justices R V More and R G Ketkar along with a status report on their probe in the 2013 murder of Dabholkar.

Gonsalves told the court that the two persons have been put under surviellance and their role is being probed.

She also told the court that the agency has so far not found any evidence to link Sanatan member Rudra Patil, a wanted suspect in the 2009 Goa bomb blast case, with Dabholkar murder.

The court, which was hearing a bunch of petitions filed by the family of Dabholkar and family members of another slain activist Govind Pansare, expressed dissatisfaction after perusing CBI’s report.

The court today remarked that there seems to be a nexus between the two murders and the investigating agencies should consider looking into it together.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of state CID, probing the Pansare murder, also submitted their probe report.

“We find that the SIT probing the Pansare murder case is doing a more satisfactory work and are more active than CBI. The probe in the Dabholkar case could be lagging behind because of shortage of manpower in the agency (CBI),” the court said.

State CID in its report informed the court that it would be filing its charge sheet within the 90-day period against arrested accused Sameer Gaikwad.

The court has directed both the agencies to file fresh status reports by November 30.

In the backdrop of Sena’s criticism after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s tour to Baramati, NCP has extended an invitation to Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray to visit the town, the home turf of party chief Sharad Pawar.

“Uddhav Thackeray has always been critical of NCP Sharad Pawar. I can understand this as a political stand but looking at a more societal level I think that Uddhav Thackeray needs to take a lesson or two on the subject matter of politics, social reforms, development etc from our leader Pawar sahib,” NCP spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said.

After Jaitley’s recent remarks disapproving of its aggressive protests, Shiv Sena had hit back, saying nobody should lecture Maharashtra on tolerance and claimed it is the only party which has “never betrayed people” for the sake of power.

Sena, a partner of the BJP in the state as well as at the Centre, has been under attack from various quarters for its aggressive protests against cultural and sporting relations with Pakistan after its activists blackened the face of Sudheendra Kulkarni and stormed the BCCI office.

Jaitley had deprecated the rising incidents of intolerance and vandalism, calling them an “extremely disturbing trend” and had said there is a need to convey differing opinion in a more democratic manner through debate.

“Pawar has always believed in the inclusive growth of the society where citizens of the most marginalized section also enjoy the fruits of development. Baramati city is an excellent example of development and growth. Jaitley’s comment to replicate hundreds of Baramatis should be taken seriously by all those who believe in the politics of advancement and progression,” Tapase said.

“The Thackerays have some political control over the city of Mumbai since the last two decades but have they ever used it for the betterment of the city? The answer is evident when the city gets flooded during a four-hour rain shower,” he said.