BMW Crash: Driver was not in inebriated state at time of accident, says Police

Following the arrest of the BMW driver in the Dhaula Kuan crash, police on Tuesday confirmed that she was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Gaganpreet was arrested on Monday on culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other charges after being discharged from a hospital.

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The BMW fatally hit Finance Ministry Deputy Secretary Navjot Singh, killing him on the spot and critically injuring his wife, Sandeep Kaur, in southwest Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan on Sunday, police said.

According to CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, the car was being driven rashly by Gaganpreet Makkar, a resident of Gurugram, while her husband was seated beside her. At the time, she was travelling with two children and a domestic help.

The victims were riding a motorcycle, with Navjot Singh at the wheel and his wife, Sandeep Kaur, as pillion. They were returning to their home in Pratap Nagar, West Delhi, after visiting Bangla Sahib Gurudwara when the crash took place.

Victim taken 19 km away to hospital linked to the accused’s father

As per Sandeep’s statement to the police, the BMW was speeding and toppled after crashing into their bike. Both she and Navjot were rushed from the spot in a van arranged by a passerby, Gulfam. She alleged that despite her repeated pleas to be taken to the nearest hospital, Gaganpreet instructed Gulfam to drive nearly 19 km away to NuLife Hospital in GTB Nagar.

Police sources stated that Gaganpreet’s father is a co-owner of NuLife Hospital, prompting investigators to examine whether the decision to take the victims there was part of an attempt to cover up the case. The hospital maintained that due procedures were followed, but declined to comment on her family’s ownership stake.

Gulfam, who took the victims to Nulife Hospital, described the incident, saying, “I was coming from Dhaula Kuan when I saw a car in an accident and some people were injured. I made two people sit in my car and took them to the hospital. There were two injured persons in my car, and another woman was sitting in the front seat. The lady sitting in the front seat told me to take the car towards Azadpur and to Nulife Hospital.”

“Many bystanders were recording videos of the accident site as soon as possible after it happened, but they did not help. I was driving a loading vehicle, stopped and ran the injured to a hospital in Azadpur after the man and the woman in the car asked me to take them there,” Gulfam told a news agency.

“The condition of the injured was very bad. It took us 20 minutes to reach the hospital,” he stated. The doctors were ready at the hospital, and he thought this was why the accused asked me to take them to that hospital, Gulfam added further.