The death of a senior finance ministry official in a BMW crash with a two-wheeler in Delhi last week is unfortunate but one cannot overlook that at least 5,000 accidents are also reported across the country every year, the woman accused in the accident told a Delhi court on Wednesday.
The accused, Gaganpreet Kaur who was arrested on Monday, said a DTC bus that collided with the two-wheeler and an ambulance that reportedly passed by should also be made an accused in the case that has garnered attention and sparked nationwide outrage.
Kaur's counsel and senior advocate Ramesh Gupta made the remarks while seeking bail in the case, even as the Patiala House Court adjourned the hearing for Saturday.
Kaur was arrested on Monday and remanded in judicial custody after her BMW hit a motorcycle that was being driven by Navjot Singh, a deputy secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, near Dhaula Kuan in Delhi on Sunday. Singh died while his wife, who was riding pillion, sustained injuries in the accident.
Seeking bail for his client, Mr Gupta said: "It is an unfortunate incident. Five thousand accidents happen every year, that's also unfortunate."
The lawyer, however, sought to know why no action was taken against a DTC bus as the police claimed that the two-wheeler rammed into the four-wheeler after getting knocked down by the BMW. Similarly, she alleged that an ambulance passed the area but refused to help the victims.
"An ambulance had stopped but refused to take them. Even he is guilty then. Police said that after the crash, the bike hit the DTC bus. Why did the police not seize the bus? Why did it file the case after 10 hours? The police are under immense pressure, so they can do anything. We pray that the Deputy Commissioner of Police be made witness in the case," he said.
The accused also questioned the police's decision to invoke section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against his client. According to the concerned section, whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to 10 years.
"How was section 304 (of the Indian Penal Code which translates to 105 of the BNS) invoked? The investigation officer is well aware of whether sub-section A or B needs to be involved. My exposure is to 304 (2), which gives the power to the court to grant me bail. They are saying that the act of taking the victims to a hospital far away attracts section 304," he said.
He was referring to initial doubts over the accused's decision to rush the two bike riders to a hospital that was 19km away from the accident spot. It later emerged that Kaur's father co-owns the hospital in question, leading police to wonder if there was an attempt to cover-up the case or alter or destroy biological evidence.
The accused's lawyer said that "if it's a lady, you can give bail in cases of death sentence and life also".
Besides section 105, the accused has been charged under sections 281 (rash driving) and 125B (endangering life or personal safety of others) of the BNS.
The prosecution, however, sought to know why the accused informed the police only five hours after the accident. "If she knew that the victim suffered such serious injuries, why did she not take them to the nearest hospital," he said.
The Delhi Police also claimed the accused woman was not injured in the incident.
"Gaganpreet is seen taking her children out of the car but she herself is later admitted in the Intensive Care Unit? How is this possible? Once she takes the victims to the hospital, the injured are just kept on a stretcher but the one who did the running around was admitted in the ICU. How is it that she never informed the police for at least five years after the accident," the prosecution said.
The taxi driver who immediately helped transport the victims to the hospital had also advised Kaur to take them somewhere close but she insisted on taking them to a centre of her choice, the prosecution added.
