Noida techie drowns as car plunges into pit; junior engineer sacked, notices issued to traffic work officials

Following the death of a 27-year-old software engineer whose car plunged into a water-filled pit at a construction site in Sector 150, the Noida Authority has terminated the services of a junior engineer and issued show-cause notices to other officials responsible for traffic-related works in the area.

In an official statement Sunday night, the authority said its Chief Executive Officer, Lokesh M, has ordered strict action in the case and directed the immediate termination of the services of junior engineer Naveen Kumar of the Noida Traffic Cell.

Additionally, show-cause notices have been issued to other relevant officers and employees responsible for traffic management in and around Sector 150.

The CEO has further sought detailed reports from the concerned departments regarding the allotment and construction activities of the developer, Lotus, and directed a review of safety arrangements at the site, it stated.

Stating that negligence of safety norms at construction sites would not be tolerated, the authority said all departments have been instructed to re-inspect safety measures at ongoing construction projects in their respective areas to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

The action comes amid allegations of negligence and delay in rescue efforts following the death of software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society, whose car fell into an over 20-feet-deep, water-filled pit dug for the basement of an under-construction building in Sector 150 in the early hours of Saturday.

Several media reports recounted the harrowing last minutes of the techie, when he made frantic calls for help. Yuvraj, reportedly, called his father, Rajkumar Mehta, and told him, "Dad, I've fallen into a deep pit filled with water. I'm drowning. Please come and save me. I don't want to die."

The techie's father Rajkumar Mehta blamed the administration for negligence. "My son was struggling to save himself. My son was crying out for help, asking people to help him, but most of the crowd was just watching. Some people were making videos. My son struggled for 2 hours to save his life. The officials and staff present were unable to save him. They did not have any divers. There is negligence on the part of the administration in this entire matter."

"My demand is that there should be proper action in the case, and full arrangements should be made so that such an incident does not happen again there," he told ANI.

Police said Mehta, who worked with a Gurugram-based company, was returning home from work when the accident occurred amid dense fog. His body was recovered after a search operation involving teams from the fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police.

An eyewitness, a delivery agent, claimed that rescue efforts were delayed and suggested that Mehta could have survived if action had been taken more promptly. Residents staged protests, alleging inadequate barricading and a lack of reflectors at the accident-prone site.

Police have lodged an FIR against two real estate developers on a complaint by the victim's family, while denying negligence in the rescue operation.

Following protests, the Noida Authority has installed barricades at the spot.

(With PTI inputs)