The BMW crash at Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan that killed Finance Ministry official Navjot Singh has brought intense scrutiny on the driver, 38-year-old Gaganpreet Makkar. Singh’s wife, Sandeep Kaur, remains critically injured and has accused Makkar of deliberately delaying medical help by diverting them to a hospital far away.
Gaganpreet Makkar: Gurugram resident and businesswoman
According to police, Gaganpreet is a resident of Gurugram, Haryana. She is married to Parikshit Makkar, and the couple runs a business dealing in horse leather saddles, seat covers and belts. The BMW involved in the accident was registered in Parikshit’s name.
On the day of the crash, Gaganpreet was travelling with her husband, two children and a maid when the luxury car struck Singh’s motorcycle near the Delhi Cantonment Metro Station.
Delhi BMW crash: The hospital controversy
Gaganpreet admitted to police that she took the victims to Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, about 17 kilometres from the accident site, because she panicked and only knew that facility from her children’s Covid-19 treatment.
But the decision has come under sharp criticism. Singh’s wife told police she repeatedly begged to be taken to the nearest hospital as her husband was unconscious, but her pleas were ignored.
“I kept pleading with them to take us to the nearest hospital immediately, especially since my husband was unconscious. But the woman, who identified herself as Gaganpreet Makkad, ignored my requests and deliberately delayed medical help,” she alleged, a HT report cited police quoting Kaur as saying in the first information report (FIR).
Alleged personal connection
Police officials were cited by HT as saying that Gaganpreet’s father is acquainted with one of the owners of Nulife Hospital, further fuelling suspicion about why the victims were driven past larger tertiary care facilities such as RML and RR Hospital.
Singh’s family has alleged the delay in reaching appropriate medical care cost him his life. His son, Navnoor Singh, told HT: “Time is critical. Maybe he would have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital.”
BMW accident in Delhi: Arrest after discharge
Gaganpreet herself sustained injuries in the crash and was admitted to hospital. She was arrested by Delhi Police on Monday after being discharged. Investigators are now probing not only the cause of the crash but also the decision-making that led to the hospital diversion.
Delhi BMW car crash: Witness account raises questions
A witness, Mohammad Gulfam, was cited by The Indian Express as saying that he stopped his loading van to help the injured and placed Singh and his wife inside with the assistance of commuters.
A woman joined him in the front seat and instructed him to drive towards Azadpur. “Madam told me to go towards Azadpur… she was talking on the phone with somebody,” Gulfam said, adding that he only later realised the woman was Gaganpreet, the BMW driver herself.
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