Yuvraj Mehta’s Death Shows Even the Rich Are Not Beyond State Failure

Nothing reveals the failure of the expensive promises to the rich more clearly than Yuvraj Mehta's death.

There was no "rescue effort" for Yuvraj Mehta. There were no divers. Even the government's own SIT doesn't say there was any five-hour or five-minute rescue efforts.

(Photo: Vibhushita Singh/The Quint)

The Incident

Yuvraj Mehta, driving a Grand Vitara, drove straight into an open pit filled with water. He begged for help for almost two hours. The police, state disaster rescue teams, everyone arrived soon after but no one attempted rescue. They said the water was too cold, they didn't have the right equipment and some said they couldn't swim. Retired police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officers expressed shock. A Dalit gig worker, Moninder Jatav, was the only one who jumped in and tried, but he couldn't save the boy, it was too late. 

This wasn't the first incident at this spot. A truck had fallen in two weeks earlier. Then also, the person to jump in, was Moninder Jatav, who was passing by. On that day since he was right there, he was able to rescue the driver. The following day, Noida Authority asked him to pay them money. 

In 2022, the Irrigation Department had written a letter to Noida Authority, it was ignored. Four months before this incident, the residents of gated societies nearby had written to their Member of Parliament from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mahesh Sharma. This is his response after Yuvraj Mehta's death: “When people write to us with complaints, we forward them to the authorities concerned. In this case also, the people of the locality wrote to me and I forwarded that letter to the Noida authorities with a covering letter asking them to take the action deemed fit, and to inform me.”

Indeed. What can a Member of Parliament do besides forwarding letters?

The Response

The Noida Authority CEO has been removed and put on a waiting list. Sooner or later, another job will be found for him. An SIT has been constituted, which in its report says there was a comprehensive failure across the board. An FIR has been filed against the builders.

There are two videos of Yuvraj Mehta's father. In one he is saying calmly, "Bas, Yogi ji se mil paayen to tasalli ho jaayegi". In the second, he is reading from a piece of paper, thanking the Uttar Pradesh government, the media and blaming the Noida Authority.

There are also videos of Moninder Jatav. One, where he is recounting what happened on that night, how the complete government apparatus abandoned Yuvraj Mehta. Another, in which he says he is being pressurised to change his statement. A third in which, after he was on video-dragged to the SIT, saying that his life and the life of his family members is in danger and he is requesting the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to provide them security. He insists he will continue to speak the truth.

On Twitter, BJP-friendly handles ran a campaign to allege that Yuvraj was partying and drunk. They didn't say whether all the others who had fallen in the pit before Yuvraj were also drunk.

The Press

On NDTV, you can find an 'expert' and the anchor in conversation, the former congratulating the latter for pursuing the issue and the latter self-congratulating the channel for courage. A report on its website begins with this paragraph: 

"A nearly five-hour-long rescue effort was carried out by the local police, divers, and a team of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) to save a 27-year-old software engineer who eventually died after his car plunged into a water-filled basement of an under-construction mall in Noida. Among them was a delivery agent who volunteered to enter the 70-foot-deep water-filled ditch in an attempt to rescue the techie, Yuvraj Mehta."

This is Kafkaesque for multiple reasons. On the same page as this report, is a video of Moninder Jatav who is saying that almost a hundred officials present there simply did not move and kept giving excuses. 

There was no "rescue effort". There were no divers. Even the government's own SIT doesn't say there was any five-hour or five-minute rescue efforts. 

Then there is ANI which calls itself Asia's largest news agency. See this tweet. Then watch the video in it. The video speaks of his life being in danger. The tweet doesn't mention it at all. 

India's Rich Are in Danger

Countless Indians purchased an expensive promise: If only you earned enough money to be able to live in a gated society, buy a water and air purifier, send your kids to a private school, you will be able to insulate yourself from the State's indifference and incompetence.

Nothing reveals the failure of this promise more clearly than Yuvraj Mehta's death. India's rich are plagued with broken infrastructure, roads which don't work, garbage which isn't picked up and sewage which leaks into drinking water.

As per a report in The Print:

"Arun Bindra is consumed with guilt. Yuvraj’s father, Raj Kumar Mehta, had sent a message around midnight to his friend and neighbour, asking for help. Bindra received it only around 3 am."

“The message reached me late because the internet doesn’t work in Noida’s Sector 150. We rely on Wi-Fi at home. And if the Wi-Fi stops working, no one can reach us,” Bindra said."

Neither swachh nor digital. Definitely not viksit. Countless residents of the gated societies repeatedly petitioned politicians and bureaucrats, but were ignored. Large sections of the media won't speak for them. The same media which took one gang rape incident in Delhi and created a national movement around it now ignores both gang rapes and failure of governance. If TV news owners wanted, they could create 24x7 outrage on urban infrastructure. But they won't. 

Courts taking suo moto action? Courts now follow Sanatana Dharma, not a book which says that courts must hold government accountable and protect citizens. Courts now protect government from citizens. 

What about mass protests? Not happening. Protestors are anti-national, remember? Demonised. Inherently evil. That's one. The other thing about larger political action is that the political energy of the average citizen is extinguished by the Hindu-Muslim communal divide. No energy left for anything else. Governance is now depoliticised. Government's primary job is to keep talking about Muslims, protect gundas who vandalise churches and mosques. Citizens' primary job is to defend the bullying of Muslims. That's all you get. 

Students who speak up? Sent to jail and called agents of Pakistan.

Farmers? Khalistani+Naxals.

What about the Opposition? Also demonised. Starved of funds. Threatened by ED cases which never amount to anything.

What about professionals? Demonised. Harvard is bad, Hard work is good. Expertise, science, intellect is to be scorned and mocked. 

The Irony

If Moninder Jatav had turned up at your door, it is highly likely you won't even look at him or make eye contact, leave alone offer him a glass of water. When the likes of Deepinder Goyal call striking gig workers "miscreants" and argue capitalism is why it is okay to treat them as if they're sub-human, you would probably cheer.

Isn't it ironic that among almost a hundred people present there, the one person who found the courage to jump in, risk his life was a Dalit gig worker?

This is not to say that Dalits or gig workers have inherently more virtue. It is to point out that a Dalit gig worker is more used to abandonment by and indifference of the State than anyone else. He has known all his life that no one is coming to help, you are on your own. 

Imagine the reverse. Would a rich man have jumped in for a drowning Flipkart worker? The man who is likely ignored and sometimes even shouted by the rich jumped in and extended solidarity.

Do you know what else he demonstrated that day? Patriotism. Because patriotism isn't cheering for cricket teams of jingoism in cinema and war. It is the work of empathy and solidarity with your fellow citizens. 

Propaganda, however, convinced you that people like Moninder Jatav aren't where you are, simply because they don't work hard enough, like you do. They don't have as much virtue as you do. If they protest they are miscreants. Those who speak for them are urban naxals. You who toe the line are a patriot.

It is no surprise that Yuvraj's father finds himself timidly reading out notes most likely handed to him by someone in the Uttar Pradesh government. He has probably come to the conclusion that he can not go against the mighty. 

Moninder Jatav is being threatened to change his statement. Pause and ask, threatened by who? A suspended NOIDA CEO? Who has the most to lose if he continues to point out that the government is incompetent? Who is the entity being protected by attention being focused only on bureaucrats? The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its politicians. Imagine if a Congress party politician said "what can I do besides forward letters." 

The one person who tried to help you, the rich, now finds his life in danger. You are not jumping even in metaphorical waters to protect him. 

Not only are the rich in danger, they also find themselves without allies. The residents around the area where this incident happened call the pit "Khooni Naala". 

They are yet to realise that they are also endangered by Khooni Media and Khooni Politicians. Moninder Jatav sees this clearly. Government authorities killed him, he tells NDTV on camera.

The Road Ahead?

“We are living Ram ke bharose, like beggars, even after paying heavy taxes.” a resident of a gated society near the incident area tells The Print. The government too is living Ram Bharose and hoping you will remain focused on Ram, believe they are Ram's representatives and believe everyone else is Raavan.

Is there a way out? There is. It is bharosa. Moninder Jatav, the journalists who speak truth to power, farmers who protest, students who speak up, the bare minimum you can start with is extending solidarity to them. Refuse to believe they are enemies of the nation simply because you are told so. Offer them some bharosa.

If not, know this: When you lose someone, social media will defame them. You'll be pressured to thank the government whose negligence killed them. And whoever tried to help will be threatened and treated like a criminal while you watch, powerless.

(Dushyant Arora is a lawyer and research consultant based in Mumbai. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)