NDRF reaches site as UP govt removes Noida Authority CEO over techie’s death; Congress calls it ‘murder’

New Delhi, Jan 20 (LatestNewsX) An NDRF team reached the accident site in Greater Noida’s Sector 150 on Tuesday as the Uttar Pradesh government removed the Noida Authority Chief Executive Officer and ordered a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the death of a 27-year-old software engineer who died after his car plunged into a water-filled pit in the fog as the boundary wall was broken and there were no barricades, lights or reflectors to mark the area to prevent mishaps.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday directed an SIT to investigate the circumstances leading to the fatal accident and submit a detailed report within five days.

The incident occurred late at night amid dense fog and poor visibility near the Sector-150 turn in the Knowledge Park area.

The victim, identified as Yuvraj Mehta, a software engineer, was driving when his car reportedly went through a broken boundary wall and plunged into an unbarricaded, waterlogged construction pit estimated to be nearly 70 feet deep.

According to family members, the pit had been left open without proper barricading or warning signs, amounting to gross negligence by the Noida Authority.

Yuvraj’s father, Rajkumar Mehta, has alleged that repeated safety violations in the area were ignored despite the site being part of the National Capital Region.

Local police officials said the post-mortem examination revealed that water was found in the victim’s lungs and that the cause of death was cardiac arrest. His body was recovered after a search operation that lasted several hours.

Reacting sharply to the incident, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari questioned the administration’s handling of public safety and rescue preparedness.

On the enquiry committee formed in the Noida engineer’s death case, Tiwari said, “Do not call this an accident or a mishap. What happened to the software engineer in Noida was a murder. There was no barricading, the vehicle went straight in, and such a huge pit was left open. Noida is part of the NCR, part of Delhi, part of the nation’s capital.

“Is this the ‘new India’ where a man is calling his father for help, people stand and watch, and there is no rescue equipment, no resources, no procedure? A helpless man was killed while people looked on. The committee must report on how such incidents can be prevented in the future and, if they occur, how rescues should be carried out.”

The incident has triggered widespread grief and outrage among people and renewed scrutiny of construction safety norms across Noida and Greater Noida, with demands for accountability and stricter enforcement to prevent similar tragedies.

rs/rad