Navjot Singh, a senior finance ministry official, loved riding bikes. On Sunday, he took his new Triumph - a gift from his father - to the Gurdwara Bangla Sahib, with his wife riding pillion. It turned out to be his last ride. On their way home, a BMW car rammed them, leaving Navjot Singh dead, and his wife Sandeep Kaur injured.
The luxury car was driven by a woman, Gaganpreet, with her husband, Parikshit, riding shotgun. The couple live in Gurugram and run a business of horse leather saddles, seats, covers, and belts, the police say.
The BMW hit the bike allegedly while trying to overtake them; it overturned and crashed into a bus. The impact of the crash was so strong that the BMW was reduced to a mangled wreck, with the bumper crushed. Videos showed the sideview mirror of the car broken, parking lights blinking, and the rear glass shattered.
The airbags inflated on impact, the car's fuel tank was broken, and petrol was trickling down. Many scratches were also seen on the car's roof.
After the accident, Gaganpreet and her husband, who also suffered minor injuries, booked an app-based taxi and took the finance ministry official and his wife to the Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, which was about 19 kilometres from the accident site. Sandeep Kaur had pleaded with them to take her husband to a hospital nearer to the spot, but they allegedly ignored her. The Nulife Hospital is owned by Gaganpreet's father, sources later revealed.
The hospital claims Navjot Singh had been brought dead. His wife is currently in a serious condition, officials said.
The finance ministry official's son, Navnoor Singh, says his father could have been saved, had he been taken to a hospital that was closer. "Time is critical. Maybe he would have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital," he said.
Navnoor said he received a call from a family friend about the accident involving his parents. "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. 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," he shared.
Gaganpreet has been charged with sections linked to rash driving, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and destruction of evidence.
