Seven days after a young life was lost on a dark, foggy Noida road, the silence at the accident site is unsettling, not because the danger has been removed, but because it remains almost entirely unchanged. The sharp 90-degree turn in Sector 150, where 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta died after his car plunged into a water-filled pit, continues to wait for another tragedy. A week later, the road bears little evidence of urgency, accountability, or corrective action.
The accident spot reveals glaring safety lapses. Except for a few temporary barricades placed near a small portion of the open drainage, nothing substantial has been done. There are no warning signs, no boundary walls, no protective netting to prevent vehicles from slipping into the water, and no speed breakers either, which you will find on a lot of roads in Noida otherwise. Street lighting remains poor, and there is no visible security or monitoring, raising a troubling question that hangs heavy in the air: will another such incident be averted, or merely repeated?
The pond into which Yuvraj’s car fell continues to remain dangerously exposed. Large sections of the water-filled excavation pit are completely open, posing a serious risk, especially at night or during poor visibility caused by fog. Though police installed a handful of barricades after the tragedy, residents say the measures are cosmetic at best. “Putting barricades only at one point is not enough. The danger still exists,” said Rajesh Sharma, a local resident who uses the road daily. The incident has intensified fear among locals, many of whom say accidents here were inevitable.
The lack of basic infrastructure reflectors, warning boards, and proper lighting, combined with the sharp turn, makes the stretch particularly hazardous. Locals allege that repeated complaints to authorities about the site went unanswered, even after earlier near misses. Beyond infrastructural neglect, the tragedy has also exposed serious concerns about the preparedness of rescue agencies.Residents and eyewitnesses allege confusion, delay, and lack of proper equipment during the rescue operation. Despite alarms being raised minutes after the accident, responders appeared ill-equipped and unsure, unable to reach Yuvraj while he was still alive.
What happened that night?
Yuvraj Mehta, a young software engineer, plunged into a water-filled pit at an under-construction site that allegedly lacked barricades. Eyewitnesses say he remained trapped in his partially submerged car for nearly 90 minutes, desperately fighting to survive. In his final moments, he called his father, describing the unfolding horror and pleading for help. His father immediately alerted the police, but despite repeated distress calls and a prolonged struggle, rescue arrived too late.
Police said Mehta was returning late on January 16 to his residence at Tata Eureka Park in Sector 150 after finishing work at his Gurugram office when dense winter fog reduced visibility to near zero. At a sharp 90-degree turn, his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara reportedly veered off the road, broke through a low boundary wall and plunged into a deep excavation pit on a vacant plot.
The autopsy report later confirmed that Mehta died due to asphyxia caused by ante-mortem drowning, followed by cardiac arrest. Police officials stated that the boundary wall around the pit was damaged in several places, but it remained unclear how the vehicle fell completely into the excavation and became fully submerged.
In a heartbreaking account, Mehta’s father alleged grave negligence on the part of authorities and rescue personnel. He stated that residents of Sector 150 had repeatedly requested the Noida Authority to install barricades, reflectors, and warning signage near the drain and excavation site, but no action was taken. Based on his complaint, an FIR was registered.
“My son was struggling to save himself. He was crying out for help, but most people were just watching. Some were even making videos. He struggled for nearly two hours,” Mehta’s father told reporters, alleging that the lack of trained divers at the site cost his son his life. He demanded strict action against those responsible and better safety arrangements to prevent similar incidents.
Police authorities, however, said that rescue efforts were severely hampered by darkness, dense fog, and the depth of the water.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Hemant Upadhyay stated that entering the water without proper equipment could have resulted in more casualties. Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajeev Narayan Mishra added that teams from the police and fire department made sustained rescue efforts, but near-zero visibility posed serious challenges.
Action that followed
The incident triggered criminal action against those allegedly responsible for maintaining the site. Builder Abhay Kumar, owner of MZ Wiztown and one of the plot owners, was arrested for criminal negligence and booked under Sections 105, 106(1) and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide due to negligence. Police said he would be produced before a court as per procedure, while efforts were underway to trace the other co-owner, Manish Kumar.
Investigators found that Mehta had climbed onto the roof of his partially submerged car and repeatedly called his father, pleading for rescue for nearly 90 minutes. By the time he was finally pulled out, he had died due to drowning.
The probe later widened with the arrest of two additional shareholders linked to the plot—Ravi Bansal of Faridabad and Sachin Karanwal of Ghaziabad, both directors of Lotus Greens Pvt Ltd. Police also sealed MZ Wiztown’s corporate office in Sector 126, Noida, and seized relevant documents.
Additionally, police registered another FIR under provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, and BNS Section 290, which deals with negligent conduct concerning buildings and structures. More arrests are likely, officials said.
Taking cognisance of the incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the formation of a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine all circumstances that led to the tragedy. The SIT, constituted on January 19, is headed by the Additional Director General (ADG) of the Meerut Zone, with the Divisional Commissioner of Meerut and the Chief Engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) as members. The team has been mandated to submit a comprehensive report within five days.
Earlier, the state government took swift action against senior officials following the incident. Noida Authority CEO M Lokesh, a 2005-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, was removed from his post and placed on the waiting list. The move followed allegations of administrative negligence, particularly the failure to ensure safety measures around hazardous construction sites.
What do the residents say?
Residents have openly blamed authorities for ignoring repeated safety concerns. Sanjay Ganzoor, a resident of the nearby ATS Pristine society, said that there is no accountability among officials. “Everything here seems to be left to God’s mercy. Authorities don’t care about the lives of people living in this area,” he alleged. According to him, the lack of action by the authorities has made daily life risky for residents.
Another resident, Navdeep Rawal, echoed similar concerns. He said that people often feel helpless due to the poor condition of roads and construction sites. “This death has exposed the reality of how unprepared the agencies are. Accidents waiting to happen are visible everywhere, yet no one takes responsibility,” he said.
Arun Sharma, who has been living in the area for the past eight to nine years, expressed deep anger over the incident. He said that despite years of complaints, there has been no real development. “There are no proper safety measures, no infrastructure, and no emergency facilities,” he said. “On the day of the incident, there was no coordination among agencies. They were simply wasting time while a young man was fighting for his life. Not a single nearby housing society was contacted for help.”
Raghvendra Kumar, who is famous as the Helmet Man of India, said that it’s all about the alertness of agencies as well as the awareness of people. Kumar said that he has been living in this area for a long time and is trying to make everyone alert. Meanwhile, if such incidents happen, it raises serious questions.
“We should always try to make everyone aware and alert. The entire area needs to be an accident-free zone, and the agencies will have to play a major role in this. They must learn from their mistakes to avoid any untoward incident in the future, said Kumar, who lives in the nearby AWHO society.
Residents also pointed out that the area is surrounded by multiple ponds and open construction sites, most of which are completely unattended. These sites lack boundary walls, warning boards or lighting. Builders, according to locals, have failed to provide even basic safety arrangements.
People living in the area believe that the inaction of local authorities has encouraged builders to ignore safety norms. “When no action is taken, builders stop caring about human lives,” said one resident. They claim that authorities have failed to conduct regular inspections or enforce safety rules.
Mehta’s death has brought attention to the long-standing issue of poor urban planning and weak enforcement of safety laws in rapidly developing areas like Noida Sector 150. Despite being a fast-growing residential and commercial zone, basic safety infrastructure remains missing.
Residents are now demanding strict action against negligent builders and officials. They want proper fencing around all ponds and construction sites, clear warning signs, better lighting and a responsive disaster management system. Many have also called for accountability and punishment for those responsible for the delay in rescue operations.
Accident-prone since long
The site was reportedly accident-prone.
Two weeks before Mehta’s death, a truck driver, Gurvinder Singh, narrowly escaped death after his vehicle fell into the same pit. Singh said he remained stranded for hours before being rescued by local residents, highlighting a pattern of negligence and delayed response.
While Lotus Greens denied responsibility, claiming the plot had been transferred with Noida Authority approval in 2019-20, the incident continues to raise serious questions about regulatory oversight, construction safety, and emergency preparedness.
Other BLACK SPOTS
Near Knowledge Park police
station: Open pits and water-filled stretches without barricades turn the road into a daily death trap
Gaur City 2: A service lane merges with an open drain on the Delhi-Meerut–Yamuna Expressway link with no barricades
Gaur City 1: With the drain level with the road, darkness or fog makes it nearly impossible to tell where the street ends and a 20-metre-wide drain begins
Greater Noida West (Taj Highway): An under-construction underpass leaves approaching vehicles exposed to an open drain running flush with the road
Techzone 4, Bisrakh: Only after deaths and public pressure did authorities install barricades along a drain indistinguishable from the road
Sector 136, Noida: An open drain