Uttar Pradesh: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken serious note of the death of a young software professional in Greater Noida and ordered a high-level probe into the incident. Acting on his directions, a three- member Special Investiga- tion Team (SIT) has been constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the fatality.
The SIT will be headed by the Meerut Divisional Commissioner, with the Additional Director General (ADG) of Meerut Zone and the Public Works Department (PWD) Chief Engineer as members.
The panel has been asked to complete the inquiry and submit a detailed report to the Chief Minister within five days.The victim, 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, died after his car plunged into a nearly 30-foot-deep, water-filled pit in Greater Noida. Police said Mehta, who worked with a Gurugram-based firm, was returning home when the ac- cident occurred amid dense fog and poor visibility.
He allegedly missed a sharp turn due to inadequate lighting and a damaged boundary wall, causing his Grand Vi- tara to fall into the pit. Unable to swim, Mehta reportedly climbed onto the roof of the submerged vehicle and repeatedly called for help, using his mobile phone’s flashlight to draw attention. He remained trapped for nearly two hours before rescue teams arrived and later died of cardiac arrest.
His body was recovered after a prolonged operation involving the local police, fire services, the State Disas- ter Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and was sent for postmortem examination.The incident sparked widespread public outrage, with allegations of administrative lapses, delayed rescue efforts and inadequate safety measures. Residents staged protests demanding accountability, while Noida Police registered an FIR against real estate developers and launched a probe into death due to neg- ligence.
The victim’s father, Raj Kumar Mehta, accused the authorities of gross neg- ligence and sought strict ac- tion against those respon- sible. Alleging that his son struggled for hours to stay alive, he claimed that while Yuvraj pleaded for help, several onlookers recorded vid- eos instead of assisting him. “My son fought for nearly two hours to save himself, but the officials and staff present failed to rescue him.
They did not even have div- ers,” he said, alleging clear administrative negligence and urging the government to ensure accountability to prevent similar tragedies. In the aftermath, as part of the action, junior engineer Naveen Kumar of the Noida Traffic Cell has been dis- missed from service. Show- cause notices have also been issued to other officers and staff linked to traffic manage- ment in and around Sector 150, seeking explanations for alleged dereliction of duty.