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‘Mala fide intent’: Delhi Police oppose driver's bail in BMW car crash case
HT reported on Tuesday that Gaganpreet Makkad's father was listed as director on two companies registered at the same address as the Nulife hospital.
Opposing the bail plea of Gaganpreet Makkad, the woman behind the wheel of a BMW that fatally mowed down 52-year-old Navjot Singh, the Delhi Police on Wednesday told a city court that the accused acted with “malafide intentions” by taking the victim to a far-off hospital with inadequate facilities, a decision that cost him his life.
The submissions, placed before Patiala House Court judicial magistrate first class Ankit Garg and seen by HT, highlighted several aspects of the investigation that police said required deeper scrutiny. They argued that releasing Makkad at this stage would risk witness intimidation. It also noted that at the hospital, Makkad was seen “roaming around the ICU lobby”, even as the deceased’s wife was lying unattended on a stretcher outside.
To be sure, HT reported on Tuesday that Makkad has close ties with the hospital where she took the victim, with her father listed as a director on two companies registered at the same address as the hospital, according to Union ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) data and investigators.
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In its written response, police said Makkad bypassed several nearby hospitals – including RR Hospital, Base Hospital, Delhi Cantonment Hospital, and AIIMS Trauma Centre – and instead directed that Singh and his wife Sandeep Kaur be taken to Nulife Multi-Speciality Hospital in GTB Nagar, nearly 20km from the crash site.
“This showed the malafide intention of the accused and there are doubts on her bona fides which require further investigation,” it stated.
Police said that the accused took the victims to that hospital after speaking to her family members. “Her call detail records with her family members immediately after the incident are being probed.”
Police said that as a result, crucial moments were lost after the incident during which time, Navjot could have been saved, had he been taken to a nearby hospital. “She (Gaganpreet) intentionally frustrated the situation by deliberately wasting time… the act constitutes criminal negligence,” the response said.
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The police submission also noted that after arriving at Nulife Hospital, Makkad was seen “roaming around the ICU lobby” before checking herself in, despite claiming to be injured. “While the deceased’s wife was lying unattended on a stretcher outside, the accused admitted herself to the ICU. This raised doubts over the veracity of her injuries and possible manipulation of medical documents,” it said.
Although Makkad has denied any family links to the hospital, police said this angle was still being investigated and notices had been issued to the hospital administration.
“The driver of the Eeco van, in which Gaganpreet took the victims to the hospital has recorded his statements stating that he was not aware that Gaganpreet was the accused…his interrogation states that he was asked by the accused to take the route for Nulife Hospital,” police said told the court.
Police also said that her husband, who was in the car at the time of the accident along with their two children and a domestic help, needed further questioning as he has been “evasive”.
It concluded that the gravity of the crime, the negligent handling of victims, and her possible ability to manipulate evidence and influence witnesses made her release untenable.
Senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, appearing for Makkad, countered the police allegations during the hearing, arguing that the FIR was registered after a gap of 10 hours and that harsher charges were added later.
“They (police) have added section pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder because they claim that accused took victims to a far-away hospital… both families are aggrieved here… her (Makkad’s) two children and husband were also exposed to injuries…she tried her best to get them treated”.
Gupta also questioned the credibility of the investigation. “The DCP should be made a witness as he was the first to say there were two eyewitnesses. The BMW first crashed into a metro pillar and overturned before hitting the bike, which then collided with a bus. That bus should also be seized as evidence,” he said.
Gupta added that the role of an ambulance, which Makkad allegedly flagged down but which did not stop, should be probed.
Advocate Ankush Munjal, representing Navjot Singh’s wife Sandeep Kaur, told the court that Makkad deliberately ignored her repeated pleas to take them to a nearby hospital.
“The injured were taken in such a bad condition in a porter van. I (Kaur) kept insisting we go to a closer hospital, but the accused refused. At Nulife, while I lay unattended on a stretcher in the lobby, she admitted herself to the ICU despite not being severely injured. This constitutes criminality,” Munjal contended.
The public prosecutor sought more time to examine the police reply before advancing arguments. The judge has also asked the police to furnish a query on what makes this case different from other fatal accidents and hit-and-run incidents.
The court extended Makkad’s judicial custody until September 27. Arguments on her bail plea will continue on September 20. Meanwhile, her counsel has filed a separate plea seeking preservation of CCTV footage, on which the court has issued notice to the police and will hear on Thursday.
The crash took place on September 14 around 1.30 pm, when Singh – a deputy secretary in the Union finance ministry’s department of economic affairs – and his wife were riding home to Hari Nagar. A speeding BMW, driven by Makkad, a Gurugram resident, crashed into a metro pillar near Dhaula Kuan, overturned, and rammed into their bike.
Both were rushed first to Nulife Hospital and later shifted to Venkateswara Hospital, where Singh died.
Makkad, arrested after being discharged, has been booked under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, obstruction of evidence, rash driving, and endangering lives under sections 281, 125B, 105 and 238 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
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