BMW crash accused Gaganpreet Kaur
NEW DELHI: The main accused in the recent BMW accident case, in which a senior finance ministry official had died, was granted bail on Saturday after a court noted that CCTV footage placed the prosecution’s allegations on a “fragile foundation”.Gaganpreet Makkad (38) has been accused of hitting the Navjot Singh’s bike from behind, killing the 52-year-old and injuring his wife. Judicial magistrate first class Ankit Garg said that while the FIR stated that the car directly struck the motorcycle from behind, the footage did not support a straightforward, deliberate high-speed ramming of the bike. Instead, he pointed out, the footage showed that Makkad’s car lost control, struck the divider, flipped and, while flipping, came into contact with a DTC bus and the motorcyclist. The people on the motorcycle then hit the bus alongside them and the pillion rider fell in front of the BMW car while its driver was crushed beneath it, the court noted.
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Stating that while Delhi Police invoked Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the court said the footage brought the occurrence closer to rash or negligent driving, premised on the mode of collision.The DTC bus continued to drive without caring for the impact of the accident, the court noted, adding that the footage had introduced intervening factors such as the conduct of the bus and that of an ambulance driver and a paramedic who had arrived at the spot within seconds of the accident but left almost immediately. Pulling up the ambulance driver and the paramedic for not showing humanity and failing in professional duty, Garg said the primary golden-hour lapse happened because of them. Denouncing their “highly unprofessional and unethical” conduct, the court said that despite being first on the scene, they provided no aid and left. When they approached the scene, the motorcyclist was unconscious beneath the car, but they left within roughly 40 seconds – the first to leave the spot – without checking Singh’s pulse or administering first aid, the judge pointed out.On the allegation of the injured deliberately being taken to a faraway hospital, the court said whether Makkad was trying to help the victim or create evidence in her favour was a question for investigation and trial.Dismissing the prosecution’s argument for extending Makkad’s police custody as “academic”, the judge said no such application was made till now. Underlining the judicial precedents, according to which there is a presumption of innocence in favour of the accused and that bail is the norm, jail is the exception, the judge granted Makkad bail.The relief is subject to furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh along with two sureties of the same amount. The court also imposed other conditions, including surrendering her passport and not contacting any witness.
