BMW Driver Panicked After Fatal Crash: Police

A woman who was allegedly driving a BMW that fatally struck a senior Finance Ministry official in Delhi has been arrested. Gaganpreet Makkar, 38, was taken into custody after being discharged from the hospital. The incident, which occurred in the Dhaula Kuan area on Sunday, resulted in the death of Navjot Singh, 52, a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, and left his wife, Sandeep Kaur, with serious injuries.

The Fatal Collision

According to police reports, the accident took place when a speeding blue BMW, allegedly driven by Makkar, rammed into the motorcycle carrying Navjot Singh and his wife. The impact of the collision was so severe that it threw the couple onto the road. The police have registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash and negligent driving, and causing disappearance of evidence. Makkar’s husband, Parikshit Makkar, who was also in the car with their two children and a domestic helper, has also been named in the First Information Report (FIR).

Conflicting Accounts and Police Investigation

The aftermath of the crash has been a point of contention. The victim’s wife, Sandeep Kaur, has alleged in her statement to the police that she repeatedly pleaded with the driver to take them to the nearest hospital for immediate medical attention, but her requests were ignored. Instead, she claims they were deliberately taken to a small hospital nearly 20 kilometers away. The victim’s family also alleges that the hospital belongs to the Makkar family or their acquaintances, a claim that police are currently investigating.

However, during police questioning, Gaganpreet Makkar offered a different account. She claimed she panicked after the accident and took the victims to the far-away hospital because she was only familiar with that facility, as her children had been admitted there during the COVID-19 pandemic. The police are also probing a possible attempt to tamper with evidence, with suspicions that the long drive to a distant hospital was an effort to delay treatment and possibly get rid of any evidence. Forensic teams have examined the accident site, and the BMW and motorcycle have been seized for further investigation.