New Delhi: Police on Monday arrested a woman, whose BMW crashed into a bike killing a senior Finance Ministry official, from a hospital, having been charged with culpable homicide, destruction of evidence, and rash driving.
The incident took place on Sunday afternoon at Dhaula Kuan when Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Navjot Singh (56), along with his wife Sandeep Kaur (54), was returning home at Hari Nagar from Bangla Sahib Gurudwara in central Delhi. “They were riding a motorcycle and were hit by the car, the injured persons fell under an oncoming bus after the collision, which made it worse,” a police officer said.
The 38-year-old Gagandeep Kaur, a resident of Gurugram, was reportedly driving the BMW with her husband, Parikshit Makkad, by her side. It is being alleged that Gagandeep insisted on taking both Navjot and Sandeep in a van to NuLife hospital in GTB Nagar, which her father co-owns, about 19 km from the accident site, instead of the nearest facility in an attempt to tamper with evidence, including medical reports.
In her statement to the police, Sandeep alleged that the car driver ignored her requests to be taken to the nearest hospital. Singh’s son also said prompt treatment at a closer hospital could have saved his father. “The accused’s father is known to one of the three owners of the hospital where the victims were taken,” HT reported, quoting a police officer.
While Navjot was declared brought dead, his wife was transferred to another hospital on her request after being given first aid, according to the director of the hospital Shakuntla Kumar. “Two additional patients, both occupants of the car, were also received at our emergency department. Both were provided immediate medical aid. One female patient, after initial observation and treatment, was discharged in a stable condition. The male patient (the husband of the woman driver), following advice from our critical care team, has been referred to a higher centre for advanced management,” News18 reported, quoting her.
“I run a loading vehicle and was coming from the Dhaula Kuan side when I saw a few people injured in the accident. They were serious. I didn’t wait for the ambulance – others were making videos but weren’t helping. With the help of one uncle, I took them all to a hospital in Azadpur. After 20–25 minutes, the doctor declared Navjot Singh dead. His wife was also severely injured. She gave me an address, so I came here to see their family. I tried to save all of them, but couldn’t…,” Mohammad Gulfan, who took the injured to the hospital, told PTI.