Woman BMW driver held for Finance Ministry official’s death

The Delhi Police on Monday arrested 38-year-old Gaganpreet Makkad, a resident of Gurugram, for allegedly driving the BMW that fatally hit the motorcycle of senior Union Finance Ministry official Navjot Singh, leaving his wife, Sandeep Kaur, critically injured.

Makkad was arrested from Nulife Hospital in Mukherjee Nagar, north Delhi, where she was undergoing treatment. She faces charges of culpable homicide, destruction of evidence and rash driving.

An FIR has been registered at the Delhi Cantonment police station under Sections 281 (rash or careless driving endangering human life), 125B (negligent act endangering human life or safety), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 238 (concealment of evidence or providing false information to protect the offender) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

A Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) team and the crime branch inspected the accident site and the damaged vehicles.

During questioning, Makkad reportedly told the police she, her husband Parikshit Makkad, their two children and maid were travelling from Gurugram to her parents’ house in Delhi, but claimed she could not recall the cause of the accident.

Navnoor, Singh’s son, raised doubts over why his parents were taken to a hospital nearly 22 km away from the crash site. Makkad said she only knew Nulife Hospital in Mukherjee Nagar as her children had been treated there during Covid.

The police said blood test results to confirm whether she was intoxicated were awaited.

According to investigators, a passerby rushed the injured to Nulife Hospital, where Singh was declared brought dead. Kaur’s condition is now stable.

In her statement, Kaur said: “We went to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib around 12.20 pm, had lunch at Karnataka Bhawan, RK Puram, and left for home. Near Delhi Cantonment Metro Station, a blue BMW came from behind at high speed and hit my husband’s motorcycle. He fell and suffered severe head and limb injuries.”

She alleged that after the crash she begged the couple to take them to a nearby hospital. “Instead, they deliberately took us to a small hospital in Mukherjee Nagar, far from the accident site. Later, my son and relatives shifted me to Venkateshwar Hospital,” she added.

The accused has been sent to two-day judicial custody.