A Delhi court on Wednesday remanded Gaganpreet Kaur, the prime accused in the BMW crash that killed senior Finance Ministry official Navjot Singh and left his wife injured, to judicial custody until September 27. The case, which initially involved charges of rash and negligent driving, has now been escalated to culpable homicide.
Representing Gaganpreet, advocate Ramesh Gupta argued that the accident was not solely her client’s responsibility. He claimed that a DTC bus had collided with the victim’s two-wheeler and insisted that the ambulance, which reportedly passed the accident site without stopping, should also be named as an accused. He questioned why no legal action was taken against the bus driver, given that the two-wheeler eventually crashed into the bus after being hit by the BMW, according to the police’s own version. Gupta further pointed out that despite the seriousness of the incident, the FIR was filed 10 hours later. He maintained that bail should be considered since the accused is a woman and emphasized that even her children were inside the car at the time of the accident.
The prosecution, however, countered these claims with serious allegations. Delhi Police highlighted that the victim was transported to Nulife Hospital, located 19 kilometers away from the crash site in north Delhi, a facility owned by a relative of the accused. According to the testimony of a taxi driver, Gaganpreet insisted that the victim be taken to that hospital. The police noted with suspicion that while the injured victim was on a stretcher, Gaganpreet herself was admitted to the ICU, raising concerns of preferential treatment and possible evidence tampering.
The court also heard that something “malafide” appeared to have influenced the handling of the victim’s treatment and subsequent investigation. After arguments from both sides, the court adjourned the matter to Thursday for further hearing.
Meanwhile, police sources confirmed that they had recorded the statement of Gaganpreet’s husband, Parikshit Makkar. He reportedly told investigators that he could not explain how the accident occurred. According to him, after the collision, Gaganpreet informed him that she was arranging for the injured to be taken to a hospital by taxi, while he followed in another cab. He added that Gaganpreet contacted her father, who later arrived at the hospital.
