Delhi BMW accident: Gaganpreet Makkad, the primary accused in the BMW accident that led to the death of a senior Finance Ministry official on September 14, has been granted bail. The court cited CCTV footage of the accident, noting that the claims made by the victim’s family were based on a “fragile foundation”. It also said that the footage brings the occurrence closer to “rash or negligent driving” than to “culpable homicide not amounting to murder”.
What does the CCTV show?
The CCTV, as per Judicial Magistrate First Class Ankit Garg, shows Makkad’s car losing control, hitting the divider, and flipping. When it flipped, it hit the DTC bus and the bike. The impact was so high that the motorcycle hit the bus, and the pillion rider fell in front of the BMW car, while its driver was crushed beneath it.
The court observed that the bus continued without stopping and that the FIR contradicts what is visible in the CCTV. Since the CCTV footage also shows an ambulance and paramedic at the scene who left within 40 seconds without even checking pulse or administering first aid, the court pulled them up for “highly unprofessional and unethical” behaviour.
“In the present case, miraculously, the ambulance was present just behind the crash. It was available within 2 seconds, it was empty, it did not have any other assignment, and it was admittedly going towards Base Hospital. But it still did not help the victim, and almost fled away from the spot quickly. The victim, due to ignorance of duty by the paramedics, was taken almost 7 minutes after the accident towards the hospital,” he added.
When the prosecution, Atul Kumar Srivastava, alleged that Makkad took the finance ministry official to a Nulife hospital in GTB Nagar, which was nearly 18 km from the accident spot and belonged to her relative, the court observed that it was subject to investigation whether she was genuinely helping the victim or trying to influence evidence. The prosecution noted that Makkad tried to “save herself from the investigation”.
Senior advocate Pradeep Rana, who represented Makkad, said that the “car was in front and that bike and car were at the same pace”. He added, “The car hit a divider, and then the man fell from the bike and was hit by a bus.”
Bail is the norm, jail is the exception
The court highlighted that bail is the norm and jail the exception while granting Makkad relief. It also noted that the prosecution had not applied for an extension of her police custody.
The terms of the bail include a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh and sureties of the same amount. Additional conditions include surrendering her passport and refraining from contacting any witnesses.