New Delhi: Sukhcharn Singh, an Indian origin cab driver, drove Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle during their 'near catastrophic car chase' with paparazzi in New York. The 37-year-old drove the royals for about 10 minutes and the couple seemed to be nervous during their short journey, Sukhcharn told BBC.
Sukhcharn, who goes by the nickname Sonny, told BBC news that he had driven a block when his taxi 'got blocked by a garbage truck' and all of a sudden paparazzi came and started taking pictures". He was then asked to drive Harry and Meghan back to the police station.
Sukhcharn Singh also stated that though the royals 'looked nervous', about the incident, the paparazzi were not being aggressive. When he was asked to comment on Prince Harry's statement, he said it was 'exaggerated'.
The incident occurred after the two ex-royals attended an awards ceremony in New York City by Ms. Foundation for Women, where Meghan was honoured for her work, reported Reuters.
As per the official statement by the spokesperson of Prince Harry, “Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.”
"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers."
While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety. Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved,” the statement read.
The incident occurred hours after Harry was told that the UK police are not for hire amid his legal battle with the UK government regarding security for him and his family.