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Delhi BMW crash: Why accused's counsel seeks to preserve CCTV footage
The Patiala House Court issued a notice to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Dhaula Kuan, directing them to preserve all CCTV footage related to the case.
In the fatal BMW accident case that claimed the life of a senior finance ministry official, Navjot Singh, the counsel for the accused has moved court seeking urgent preservation of CCTV footage from the accident site.
On Thursday, the Patiala House Court issued a notice to the Station House Officer (SHO) of Dhaula Kuan, directing them to preserve all CCTV footage related to the case.
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The SHO has also been summoned to appear with the case file at the next hearing, which is scheduled for tomorrow.
Why does defence counsel want CCTV footage preserved?
The application to preserve the footage was filed by Gaganpreet Kaur's counsel, who argues that key visual evidence could be lost or tampered with if not protected immediately.
According to the accused's counsel, the move is aimed at securing critical evidence that could challenge the current narrative presented by the police against the BMW driver.
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At the outset of the hearing on the bail plea, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta, while arguing for Gaganpreet Kaur, submitted that this is a simple accident case. Invoking the section related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder is totally unwanted.
"There was no proper investigation. There is an interview with DCP, he should be made a witness by the investigation officer," Gupta said.
The accused's counsel also raised concerns about the absence of key witnesses, the lack of action against an ambulance driver who failed to take the injured to the hospital, and the non-impounding of a DTC bus that was allegedly present at the scene.
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“An ambulance also came on the spot, but he did not take the injured to the hospital. Should he not be accused?”, the senior advocate asked. He further argued that there was a DTC bus. It should have been impounded.
"I expect that the police will investigate the case in a fair manner," the senior advocate submitted.
Gupta said that Kaur made the best efforts to provide relief to the injured; she called her father-in-law, who told her about the hospital.
“The lady herself sat in the van that had stopped, (inadvertently) left her phone in the car. She had to leave her children and husband in the car, who were also injured…There must be a fair investigation,” he said.
Why CCTV footage matters?
The CCTV footage is central to the defence's case, as it could reveal the exact timing and sequence of the crash, the movement of the vehicles involved, actions of first responders and bystanders and whether or not Gaganpreet Kaur's version of events holds up.
Kaur's lawyer emphasised that the footage may either confirm or contradict the police's claim that she drove the injured victim to a far-off hospital, a key factor in the invocation of Section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
What Delhi Police said
The Delhi Police opposed Gaganpreet Kaur's bail plea, claiming that the first alert came from the hospital, not from Kaur.
They also raised suspicions about why she got herself admitted to the ICU despite minor injuries and questioned her decision to take the victim to a hospital far from the accident spot.
Accused's judicial custody extended
While the legal battle continues, a Delhi court on Wednesday extended till September 27 the judicial custody of Gaganpreet Kaur, the woman who drove the BMW involved in the Dhaula Kuan crash.
Judicial magistrate Ankit Garg extended the judicial custody of Gaganpreet Kaur, 38, after she was presented in the court.
(with PTI inputs)
