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According to news agency PTI, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and directed the formation of a three-member SIT to investigate the circumstances of Yuvraj Mehta’s death.
The team is led by Meerut zone additional director general (ADG) Bhanu Bhaskar, and also includes Meerut division commissioner Hrishikesh Bhaskar and Public Works Department (PWD) chief engineer Ajay Verma. The panel has been asked to submit its report within five days.
Accident and negligence allegations
Mehta, who worked at a Gurugram-based firm, was returning to his residence in Sector 150 late on January 16 when his car fell into a deep, water-filled pit at a construction site near a drain.
He reportedly cried for help for about two hours before committing suicide. After this incident, allegations of negligence, inadequate barricading and delay in rescue efforts have started being made.
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His body was recovered after a long operation by police, fire services, SDRF and NDRF. Police said the post-mortem examination revealed that Mehta died of cardiac arrest followed by suffocation, with his nose blocked by mud and water, indicating drowning. According to PTI, his last rites were performed in Haridwar.
Administrative action and FIR
Following instructions from the Chief Minister, senior IAS officer Lokesh M was removed from the post of CEO of Noida Authority and put on the waiting list, an official order said.
Earlier, amid criticism, Lokesh M had dismissed a junior engineer and issued show cause notices to other officials involved in traffic-related work in Sector 150.
The police have registered an FIR against two real estate developers – M/s Wishtown Planners and Lotus Greens – under relevant provisions of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) on the complaint of Mehta’s father Raj Kumar Mehta.
According to PTI, he alleged, “There was no barricading or reflective signage around the site, which led to the accident.” He also demanded accountability so that in future “no one else loses their son like this.”
Earlier warnings were ignored
This has emerged from further investigation of a 2023 letter written by the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department to the Noida Authority, in which the need for a head regulator in Sector 150 was identified to prevent waterlogging. According to PTI report, officials said the work was never started.
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Beyond the SIT investigation, CM Yogi has directed officials to identify accident-prone places across Uttar Pradesh and ensure immediate corrective measures.