On a day he was preparing to cremate his dead father, Navnoor Singh received an unexpected delivery - an air fryer and a shirt, his father Navjot Singh's birthday surprise for him. Navnoor, the son of deputy secretary in the economic affairs department of the finance ministry (central) Navjot Singh, turned 22 on Tuesday.
What should have been a day of celebration instead became one of mourning, as the family readied to bid farewell to Navjot, who was killed in a fatal BMW crash in Delhi.
Navjot Singh's friend Rishabh reportedly received a call from Navnoor, who told him about his dead father's last gift to him. When Rishabh asked him about his gifts, particularly the airfryer, Navnoor said his father had noticed his new-found interest in cooking, NDTV reported.
Navjot Singh loved giving surprises, and his son received the last one from him at 6 am on the day the family was preparing to cremate him, the publication said.
Rishabh, visibly emotional, had earlier described his friend's death as a great loss for the nation. "Navjot's loss is not just a loss for his family or friends. It is a great loss for the nation... Today is both his son's birthday and, on the other hand, his cremation," he said.
Navjot Singh, 52, was killed after a speeding BMW rammed into his motorcycle near Delhi Cantonment metro station on Ring Road at around 1.30 pm on Sunday, September 14. His wife Sandeep Kaur was with him during the accident. She survived the accident but remains in hospital with grievous injuries.
Gagan Preet Makkad, the woman who was allegedly driving the speeding BMW, was arrested a day after the crash. Navjot Singh's Navnoor earlier accused the woman of taking his parents to a hospital 22 kms away, claiming his father's life could have been saved had they been rushed to a hospital nearby.
"My parents left in the morning to visit Bangla Sahib Gurudwara. They then went to Karnataka Bhawan for lunch. After this, they were returning home when a speeding BMW hit them," Navnoor said.
Gagan Preet, the accused, was with her husband and two children at the time of the crash. She was arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, obstruction of evidence, rash driving, and endangering lives.