BMW crash kills Delhi finance ministry official, injures wife; culpable homicide case registered

New Delhi: A senior finance ministry official was killed and his wife critically injured after a BMW hit their motorcycle near the Delhi Cantonment metro station on Sunday afternoon, police said. A case of culpable homicide has been registered.

The victim, Navjot Singh (52), Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs and a resident of Hari Nagar, was returning home with his wife after visiting Bangla Sahib Gurdwara when the luxury SUV rammed their two-wheeler. Singh died on the spot, while his wife is undergoing treatment.

The BMW was driven by a woman, with her husband seated beside her. Police said the BMW driver and her husband, who runs a business, are residents of Gurugram. They are admitted to the hospital and their statements are yet to be recorded, police said.

Police have booked the case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 281 (rash driving), 125B (acts endangering life or personal safety) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence).

The BMW and the motorcycle have been seized, while forensic experts and the crime team examined the accident site. Further investigation is underway.

The incident
Police said three PCR calls were received on Sunday afternoon about a traffic jam near metro pillar number 67 on the Dhaula Kuan-Delhi Cantt stretch. A team rushed to the spot and found a BMW X5 lying sideways on the road and a motorcycle parked near the road divider.

Eyewitnesses told police that a woman was driving the car when it hit the motorcycle from behind.

Singh was driving the motorcycle, and his wife was riding pillion. They were rushed to a hospital in a taxi by the woman and her husban,d who were in the BMW. The front portion of the car was mangled due to the impact of the collision, according to the eyewitnesses.

Later, police were informed by the hospital where Singh and his wife were taken that he succumbed to injuries, while his wife, 50, was undergoing treatment.

"The BMW and the motorcycle involved in the accident have been seized. The spot was examined by a crime team and experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory were called in for assistance. An FIR is being registered in the matter and an investigation is underway," a senior police officer said.

Singh's son said his parents were returning from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and stopped at Karnataka Bhawan for eating.

"They were on their way to Hari Nagar via Dhaula Kuan when the incident happened. Instead of taking them to a nearby hospital, they were taken to a hospital nearly 22 km from the accident site. My mother suffered a head injury, even though she was wearing a helmet, and a fractured femur," he told PTI Videos.

He also alleged negligence on the part of the hospital authorities in admitting his parents.

He claimed that his mother was made to sit in the lobby at the hospital despite her serious condition. At the same time, the husband of the BMW driver, who suffered minor injuries, was immediately admitted.

"Because of this negligence and delay, my father was declared dead, and my mother kept screaming in pain," he added.

The family later shifted her to Venkateshwara Hospital for better treatment. "My mother, who is a teacher, is devastated, and so are we," he said.