Indian hit and run driver jailed

The trial attracted lots of attention (Photo: Indian Express)

Sanjeev Nanda, the son of a wealthy Indian arms dealer, has been sentenced to five years in prison in a notorious hit and run case.

Nanda, who was accused of driving while drunk, had earlier been found guilty of running over and killing six people in Delhi in January 1999.

His lawyers say they will appeal against his conviction and sentence.

The case was seen as a test of whether the judiciary would hold a member of India's elite accountable.

During the trial, several witnesses changed their testimony, amid accusations they had been bought off.

'Exemplary verdict'

On Tuesday, a court in Delhi found Nanda, the grandson of a former navy chief, guilty of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder".

Three others were also convicted for destruction of evidence.

Nanda's co-accused Manik Kapoor was acquitted in the nine-year-old case, which came to be known as the "BMW hit and run case".

Nanda's lawyers say they will appeal against the sentence and also apply for bail.

Meanwhile, anti-drink driving campaigners have welcomed the sentencing.

"I welcome this stance taken by the court. It is an exemplary verdict," Prince Singhal, president of Campaign Against Drunken Driving (CADD), said in a statement.

"I am certain that such a verdict would help in controlling this menace [drink-driving] which kills more than 90,000 people in a year in India.

"It would definitely instil a respect and fear of law in the common man, and deter them from drinking and driving."

According to reports, key witness Sunil Kulkarni was walking down the street in the early hours of 10 January, 1999 when he saw a BMW run over and kill six people in Delhi.

In a statement to the police shortly afterwards, he identified Sanjeev Nanda as the driver of the car.

But during the course of the trial, he changed his testimony several times.

He once said in court that Mr Nanda was one of the passengers in the BMW, but was not the driver.

At another time, he said he was under pressure from both the prosecution and defence to change his testimony.

'Bribes offered'

During the trial most of the other main prosecution witnesses also changed their accounts.

But the case took a turn in March 2007 when the Delhi-based NDTV channel broadcast footage secretly recorded by Mr Kulkarni.

NDTV said the shaky footage showed prosecutor IU Khan in collusion with defence lawyer RK Anand.

Mr Kulkarni said the two offered him bribes to change his testimony.

Although Mr Khan and Mr Anand denied any wrongdoing, they were found guilty by the Delhi High Court last month.

The two were convicted for "obstructing the judicial process" and have been barred from practising for four months.

The "BMW hit and run case" has been compared with other high-profile cases in Delhi in the past decade in which witnesses changed their testimony, amid accusations that they had been bought off.

In one such case - the 1999 murder of model Jessica Lal - the lack of evidence led to the main accused being acquitted until a public outcry led to a retrial and the verdict being overturned.