Navjot Singh, 52, died of injuries he suffered after a BMW hit his two-wheeler
In a crucial development in the Delhi BMW crash case, police have found that the hospital where central government officer Navjot Singh was taken to after he was seriously injured in the accident was co-owned by the family of the accused, Gaganpreet.
Navjot Singh (52), a Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union Finance Ministry, died yesterday after a BMW hit his two-wheeler near the Delhi Cantonment metro station. Mr Singh and his wife, Sandeep Kaur, were returning from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara when the crash took place.
The BMW was being driven by Gaganpreet and her husband, Parikshit, was in the car. The couple took Navjot and Sandeep to a Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, about 19 km from the accident spot. This raised questions: why would they not rush the injured to the nearest hospital?
It has now emerged that Nulife Hospital is co-owned by Gaganpreet's family. Her father is among the three partners who own it, according to sources.
The couple was rushed to Nulife Hospital in a Maruti Eeco porter car. Gulfam, the driver, said he spotted Navjot and Sandeep at the crash site and rushed to help. The injured couple and Gaganpreet got into the car and she asked Gulfam to drive towards Azadpur. "Over the phone, she was asking someone to keep beds ready," he told NDTV.
Asked why he did not drive to the nearest hospital, Gulfam said, "I did not know the area well, so I went where I was told to. It took us half an hour to reach the hospital."
Earlier, Navjot Singh's son, Navnoor Singh, told NDTV that his father may have survived if he had been rushed to a nearby hospital. "Time is critical. Maybe he would have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital," he said.
"A family friend called to inform me that my parents had met with an accident. I thought it must be a minor accident because 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," Navnoor said.
He said the hospital refused to share any information about who brought Navjot and Sandeep 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," he said.
"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.
Gaganpreet and Parikshit live in Gurugram and are in the business of leather products. They now face a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They have also been slapped with sections relating to destruction and concealment of evidence or giving false information, and rash driving.
A representative from the hospital said Navjot was brought dead to the hospital. "We followed all medico-legal protocols. All patients are important to us, irrespective of who they are. Our heartfelt condolences to those who lost their own," Dr Shakuntala Kumar, the hospital's director, said. The hospital's director did not respond to a question on the hospital's ownership.
Inputs by Anil Kumar Attri
