NEW DELHI: The wife of Navjot Singh, a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance, killed in a collision between their motorcycle and a BMW car on the Ring Road near the Delhi Cantonment Metro station had repeatedly pleaded with the accused couple to get them admitted to a nearby hospital, but to no avail, according to the FIR lodged in the case.
The accident took place on Sunday afternoon, said police. In her statement to the police, Sandeep Kaur (50), a school teacher, explained that she and her husband visited Bangla Sahib Gurdwara earlier in the day, before having lunch at Karnataka Bhawan in RK Puram.
“After lunch, we were returning home on our motorcycle. My husband was wearing a turban at the time of the crash. But I was wearing a helmet. The crash took place around 1 pm on Sunday,” Kaur stated in the FIR.
“When we reached near Delhi Cantonment Metro Station, a blue BMW car came from behind at high speed and hit my husband’s motorcycle. We fell off the bike due to the impact. My husband sustained very serious injuries and multiple fractures to the head, mouth and legs. He lost consciousness. I too suffered injuries and multiple fractures in the accident on my head and legs. After some time, I also fell unconscious,” she said.
Kaur needed 14 stitches on her head. She claimed that the woman driving the BMW, along with another man, initially attempted to help by placing the injured couple into a van.
“I was constantly requesting them to take us to the nearest hospital as my husband was unconscious and needed immediate treatment. Instead, the lady took us to a small hospital in GTB Nagar,” she said in her statement.
Kaur was reportedly left on a stretcher for an extended period. She was later transferred to Venkateshwar Hospital by family members.
The police have filed charges under sections 281 (rash driving), 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 125B (acts endangering life) of the IPC.
The driver, identified as Gaganpreet Makkar, has been arrested, and authorities are investigating potential tampering with medical reports.
Kaur’s son, Navnoor Singh, was informed about the accident by a family friend. He alleged negligence on the part of the hospital authorities in admitting his parents. The son claimed that his mother was made to sit in the lobby at the hospital in GTB Nagar despite her serious condition, while the husband of the BMW driver, who suffered minor injuries, was immediately admitted.
“Because of this negligence and delay, my father was declared dead, and my mother kept screaming in pain,” he added. The family later shifted her to Venkateshwara Hospital for better treatment. “No idea why they took them to a hospital which is like a nursing home 20 km away,” he said.