Noida, Jan 18: A 27-year-old software engineer lost his life after his vehicle plummeted into a 20-foot-deep, water-filled basement pit in Greater Noida’s Sector 150. Following the incident, which occurred during heavy fog in the early hours of Saturday, police have registered an FIR against two real estate developers for criminal negligence.
The victim, identified as Yuvraj Mehta, was a resident of the Tata Eureka Park society and worked for a firm in Gurugram. According to the Knowledge Park police, the accident was reported around 12:15 am. Despite a multi-agency search involving the SDRF and NDRF, Mehta’s body was not recovered until Saturday morning.
“Police and fire department teams made efforts to save the youth. A fire department crane, ladder, makeshift boat and searchlights were used, but there was zero visibility at the time,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajeev Narayan Mishra mentioned while responding to allegations of a slow response.
Local residents and eyewitnesses have disputed the official timeline, staging protests to demand accountability. Moninder, a delivery agent who witnessed the aftermath, claimed the rescue was marred by hesitation due to cold weather and submerged debris. He noted that he saw the victim standing on the car’s roof using a phone torch to signal for help before the vehicle submerged.
“I tied a rope around my waist and went into the water myself. I searched for the youth and his car for about 30 minutes,” the witness noted, adding that a similar accident involving a truck had occurred at the same spot previously.
The victim’s father, Raj Kumar Mehta, stated in his complaint that repeated requests to the Noida Authority for reflectors and barricades at the site had been ignored. In the wake of a candle march held by grieving neighbors on Sunday, authorities finally installed safety barriers at the accident-prone location.
ACP Hemant Upadhyay confirmed that the investigation is now focused on the developers’ failure to secure the construction site. While police initially pointed to fog and speeding as contributing factors, they have assured that “strict action will be taken as per law” against those responsible for the lack of safety measures.
