Delhi BMW crash: Gaganpreet refused help from bystanders, court told in bail hearing

Accused Gaganpreet

The woman driving the BMW that struck and killed a senior finance ministry official refused help from bystanders at the scene, the Delhi Police alleged in court on Thursday.

This claim was made as the prosecution opposed the bail plea of the accused, Gaganpreet. The case concerns the death of Navjot Singh, 57, in a collision on September 14.

Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava, representing the Delhi Police, detailed the allegations before Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg at Patiala House Court.

"We have the statement of a person who had wanted to help, but the accused had denied," Srivastava stated, according to the submission reported by The Indian Express.

The prosecution further challenged Gaganpreet's actions after the accident. She had taken the injured Singh to Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, a facility nearly 18 km from the Ring Road accident site near Delhi Cantonment Metro station.

Srivastava argued this choice was deliberate. "Their intention was to save themselves from the police," he told the court. "This wasn't a hospital. It was a nursing home belonging to a relative (of Gaganpreet). There were many hospitals nearby which she could have taken them to."

Gaganpreet's defence counsel, senior advocate Pradeep Rana, presented a different version of events. He contested the sequence of the collision.

"The motorcycle was never in front of the car. The car was in front. Both vehicles had the same speed," Rana was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. "The car hit a divider and then the man fell from the bike and was hit by a bus."

This account forms the core of the defence's argument as Gaganpreet seeks bail.

The police have invoked charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Gaganpreet. This is a non-bailable offence that carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Gaganpreet was arrested a day after the accident from Nulife Hospital, where she was undergoing treatment. The bail hearing continues as the court considers these opposing narratives.