4 min readNew DelhiSep 24, 2025 06:19 PM IST
First published on: Sep 24, 2025 at 06:19 PM IST
Senior Finance Ministry official Navjot Singh was taken to a hospital in just 24 minutes after the accident on September 14, argued Gaganpreet, the woman driving the BMW which was allegedly involved in the crash.
Singh, 57, who was posted as a deputy secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry, was killed in the accident and his wife was injured after the BMW allegedly rammed into their bike. The accident took place on the Ring Road near Delhi Cantonment Metro station.
“It took 24 minutes to reach Nulife hospital… The other hospitals were a little closer but due to traffic, it would take more time to get there,” argued Senior Advocate Pradeep Rana, who appeared for Gaganpreet.
Nulife hospital in GTB Nagar was nearly 18 km from the accident spot.
“AIIMS and Venkateswara would have taken 36 minutes… the hospitals were closer by a few km, but it would’ve taken an additional 12 minutes to reach them due to traffic,” he added.
Judicial Magistrate Ankit Garg of Patiala House Court, who was hearing Gaganpreet’s bail plea, asked: “Did you check this right now or the day of the accident?”
Rana replied: “I checked on multiple days. This is the average difference that I got… I’m a housewife who has two minor kids. I’m languishing in jail. We had called hospitals, but didn’t get responses. Then we went to Nulife. Did we stop anywhere for a toilet or anything? Did we take any turns?”
“I could’ve run away easily. I remained in the hospital… my only intention was to get him (Singh) help,” he added.
Rana also said the complaint filed by Singh’s wife was contradictory to the CCTV footage. “What actually happened is that the bike was hit by a bus… we saw the footage. Police are playing hide and seek; if they had CCTV in their favour, they would be playing it in front of the judge,” Rana said.
“If the CCTV shows otherwise, I’ll not even press for bail,” he added.
Rana also requested for the internet history of Gulfam — the driver who took the deceased to the hospital.
Public Prosecutor (PP) Atul Kumar Srivastava objected to the preservation of the internet history of the driver — who’s a witness in this case — citing privacy. He also stated that Gaganpreet took the deceased to Nulife, despite requests from his wife.
Police had invoked culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Gaganpreet, a non-bailable offence which has a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. A day after the accident, she was arrested from Nulife where she was undergoing treatment.
“There’s a golden hour principle… taking to a nearby hospital helps. A lot closer (than) Nulife are AIIMS and Safdarjung,” the PP said.
“The hospital (Nulife) belongs to a relative… documents do not show the time of arrival. Their intention was to not allow the police to find out about the incident. Had he been taken to (AIIMS) Trauma Centre, the possibility of saving him would have been much higher,” Srivastava added.
“They were well aware about which hospitals were nearby. Why didn’t she ask the driver if there is a hospital nearby? The intention was not to save the injured, rather to save themselves from legal proceedings,” the PP argued.
Magistrate Garg said, “Ask BMW for the data… what speed was the car in… Anything related which supports your case, please bring it.”
“Tomorrow is the last opportunity to submit everything,” the judge said, directing to produce the CCTV footage and all relevant evidence at 2 pm on Thursday.
Navjot Singh, 57, who was posted as a deputy secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs under the Finance Ministry, was killed in the accident and his wife was injured. (File photo) 
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