Special Investigation Team Formed To Probe Noida Techie's Drowning, Report In 5 Days

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the death of a Noida techie after his car fell into a pit at a construction site. The SIT will give a report in five days, sources said.

The SIT's announcement comes after the Noida Authority sacked a junior engineer and issued notices to other officials responsible for traffic-related works in the area, where the car missed a turn in low visibility and drove into the water-filled pit.

Software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, a resident of Noida's Tata Eureka Park society, was almost home when the accident happened on Saturday.

The junior engineer who was responsible for the Noida traffic cell, Naveen Kumar, has been suspended.

There have been allegations of negligence and delay in launching rescue efforts to save the techie, who had climbed out of the car and had been waiting for a long time to be picked up safely.

"It's a sad incident. We are with the grieving family. We tried every possible way and put all efforts to save his life. SDRF was also on site, but visibility was zero," Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajeev Narayan Mishra said, adding the authorities made all possible attempts to save Mehta.

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

The police have filed a first information report against two real estate developers on a complaint by the techie's family, while denying negligence in the rescue operation. Following the protests, the Noida Authority has installed barricades at the spot.

Mehta's postmortem report said he had drowned. Rajesh Kumar, an official from the Public Health Department of the Noida Authority, today said water at the accident site was flowing from a drain that is cleaned regularly.

The techie's family alleged administrative negligence, claiming that timely intervention could have saved his life as he struggled in the water for nearly two hours.

"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," the young man's father Rajkumar Mehta said.

"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."

Satish Pal, Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Noida Authority, said that an inquiry is underway to fix responsibility.

"The investigation will reveal whose land it was, to whom it was allotted, and who was responsible for its maintenance. That road is in an area that is not yet a fully developed sector," Satish Pal told news agency ANI, assuring action after the inquiry.