On 17 January, Yuvraj Mehta, a 27-year-old software engineer, died after his car plunged into a deep and water-filled pit at an under-construction site in Greater Noida’s Sector 150. The incident occurred around midnight as Mehta was returning home from work.
According to The Hindu, a delivery agent named Moninder arrived at the scene and entered the water himself after observing hesitation among official rescuers. Moninder tied a rope around his waist and searched for Mehta and his car for about 30 minutes.
As reported by Hindustan Times, Mehta’s car had fallen into a pit approximately 50 feet deep, filled with rainwater, and lacking barricades or reflective warnings. Eyewitnesses and family members said Mehta survived for nearly an hour after the crash, standing on the roof of his car and signaling for help with his phone’s torch.
As highlighted by Financial Express, Mehta’s father, Raj Kumar Mehta, alleged that police and rescue teams failed to act in time, despite hearing his son’s screams. The family and local residents pointed to the absence of basic safety measures such as street lights, barricades, and reflectors in the area.
A case of culpable homicide was registered against two real estate companies, and the Noida Authority terminated a junior engineer and issued show-cause notices to other officials.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay said that fog and overspeeding were contributing factors to the accident, The Hindu reported. Local residents staged protests, alleging repeated negligence by authorities and highlighting previous requests for barricades and reflectors near the drain, which were not addressed.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.