NEW DELHI: Navjot Singh, a 52-year-old finance ministry official who was run over by a speeding BMW near Dhaula Kuan last September, remained alive for at least 15 minutes after the accident and could have been saved with prompt medical attention, Delhi Police stated in its chargesheet.The final report was submitted to a magistrate’s court last week.On September 14, Navjot Singh, a deputy secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, was killed, and three others, including his wife, sustained injuries when a BMW allegedly collided with his motorcycle near Delhi Cantonment Metro Station on Ring Road.In a 400-page chargesheet filed before Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg, police alleged that the accused, Gaganpreet Makkad, deliberately delayed providing critical medical assistance to Singh.According to the chargesheet, the accident occurred around 1:30 pm when Makkad’s BMW X5, reportedly traveling at 100–110 kmph, crashed into a metro pillar near Delhi Cantonment Metro Station, overturned, and struck Singh’s motorcycle. The speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 kmph. “The speed made it impossible to control the vehicle. The impact, despite the BMW being one of the sturdiest vehicles, shows the force with which the victims were struck,” the chargesheet said, citing a speed analysis report obtained from BMW.Citing the post-mortem report, the final chargesheet stated that Navjot Singh “survived for at least 15 minutes,” with further details still being clarified.The report alleged that instead of taking Singh and the injured to nearby medical facilities like Delhi Cantonment Hospital or AIIMS Trauma Centre, which were just 10–15 minutes away, the accused, Gaganpreet Makkad, drove them to Nulife Hospital in GTB Nagar, roughly 20 km from the crash site, taking 23 minutes to reach the facility. The chargesheet described Nulife Hospital as “a small two-storey nursing home with limited facilities” and alleged that the delay resulted in the “wastage of the golden hour of trauma care.” Police had earlier stated that an ambulance, staffed with a driver and paramedic, arrived at the scene within minutes of the crash, but the accused allegedly refused to accept their assistance. “No fault has been found on the part of the ambulance staff as the accused deliberately refused help and delayed medical assistance,” the chargesheet said. The final report has alleged that Makkad has “distant family links” with Nulife Hospital.Notices issued to the hospital revealed this link, the chargesheet stated, adding that documentary evidence regarding the alleged manipulation of medical records was still being collected.It also alleged that the accused had falsely admitted herself to the ICU despite having only minor injuries, allegedly to mislead investigators.The final report noted that investigations into certain aspects, including the purported tampering of medical documents, were still ongoing.(With agency inputs)
