A 27-year-old software engineer’s desperate fight for survival ended in tragedy in Greater Noida after his car plunged into a deep, water-filled pit, exposing a chain of lapses and delays that ultimately foiled rescue efforts.
Yuvraj Mehta, who worked as a software engineer in Gurugram, was returning late at night to his residence at Tata Eureka Park in Noida Sector 150 when the accident occurred. Driving his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara through near-zero visibility, Mehta reportedly misjudged a turn amid dense winter fog. His car jumped a drain and fell into a roughly 50-foot-deep pit filled with rainwater. Police said the excavation site had no barricades or reflective warning signs.
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According to Assistant Commissioner of Police Hemant Upadhyay, fog was a major factor in the crash. “Prima facie, it is suspected that Mehta was driving at a high speed,” he said, adding that poor visibility may have caused him to misread the road.
‘Papa, I am stuck'
After the car plunged into the pit, Mehta managed to climb onto its roof, trying to keep himself above water. From there, he called his father, Raj Kumar Mehta, asking for help and describing his ordeal. “My son himself called me while he was trapped. He said, ‘papa, I am stuck, the car has fallen into the drain”, his father told Hindustan Times.
For nearly 90 minutes, he stood atop the sinking car, screaming for help as the water rose around him.
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Rescue attempts fall short
Police, fire department teams, the State Disaster Response Force, and the National Disaster Response Force were informed, but dense fog delayed their arrival. When they finally arrived, rescuers attempted to throw ropes to Mehta, but the gap between them was too large. Firefighters deployed ladders and even a crane, neither of which was long enough to bridge the gap to the pit. Finally, the car submerged, taking Mehta with it. His body was later retrieved with the help of a boat.
Public outcry followed, and two real estate companies implicated in the controversy-MZ Wiztown Planners Ltd and Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd-faced culpable homicide charges. Both firms denied responsibility, citing land transfer and lack of permission for the work. The Noida Authority issued show-cause notices to the staff who managed traffic in the area and dismissed a junior engineer as part of disciplinary action.
