In a twist of events, in the circumstances surrounding the death of Navjot Singh, a Deputy Secretary in the Union Ministry of Finance, it was found that he was taken to a hospital that was co-owned by the family of the driver who hit him with a BMW. Singh (52) died on Sunday after being hit by a BMW while returning home with his wife on a motorbike.
The car was driven by Gaganpreet, and her husband, Parikshit, was with her in the vehicle.
After the accident, Singh and his wife were taken to the Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, where he was declared dead. His wife is still undergoing treatment, according to NDTV.
She has now filed an FIR that alledges that the BMW driver ignored her requests to be taken to a nearby hosptial. Gaganpreet has been taken into police custody, News18 reported.
Singh’s son, Navnoor Singh, had earlier alleged that his father might have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital. The Nulife hospital was about 19 kilometres away from the accident site.
Maybe he would have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital," Mr Singh had said.
"A family friend called to inform me that my parents had met with an accident. I thought it must be a minor accident as my father is a careful driver. I was not very worried. But when we went to the hospital, it didn't make sense to me why my parents were admitted to a hospital in GTB Nagar when the accident happened near Dhaula Kuan."
According to sources who spoke to NDTV, Nulife hospital is co-owned by Gaganpreet’s father, who is one of three who owns it.
The couple was taken to the spot in a Maruti Eeco porter car. Gaganpreet had entered the car along with the injured couple and had asked the driver to drive toward Azadpur.
The driver of the Maruthi, Gulfam, said that he saw that “over the phone, she was asking someone to keep beds ready."
Gulfam said that he did not know the area well and so he drove to the where he was told to go, and that it took them half an hour to reach there.
Navnoor Singh’s son had said that the hospital had refused to share who brought his parents there. "I kept asking the hospital staff about who brought my parents here, and from nurses to doctors, everyone said they are here, sitting outside. But I didn't find anyone. Later, I learnt that the patient on a hospital bed next to my dad was also involved in the accident." "Around five hours later, I saw a doctor creating a medico-legal certificate and putting Gaganpreet's name in it. I asked, Why are you creating a fake document? Upon enquiring, I got to know that the woman was being treated at the same hospital," he added.
Navjot Singh's father, who spoke to PTI, said, "He should have been taken to the nearest hospital. It was intentional that they took him so far, and after speaking to my in-laws, they told me he was taken to the worst nursing home."
Gaganpreet and Parikshit now face a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They will also be charged with destruction and concealment of evidence and giving false information, and rash driving. They both worked in the business of leather products.