Noida Techie Death: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has sacked Lokesh M, the Chief Executive Officer of Noida Authority, with immediate effect in the Noida Techie death case. The UP CM has also ordered the constitution of a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to ascertain the specific circumstances resulting in the death of Yuvraj Mehta, a 27-year-old software engineer.
Yuvraj drowned in a water-filled excavation pit while returning from his office to home in Sector 150.
Witness Under Pressure?
Interestingly, there have been reports that the prime witness has been pressurized to change his statement. The rescue operations come under District Magistrate Megha Roopam, who is the daughter of Gyanesh Kumar, the serving and 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India.
Noida Techie Death-SIT Member Details
The special investigation team would be led by Additional Director General (Meerut Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar. The other SIT members are Public Works Department (Meerut) chief engineer Ajay Verma and Meerut divisional commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami. CM Yogi Adityanath has ordered submission of their investigative report within five days.
What Cause The Death of Yuvraj Mehta?
Yuvraj was returning back from his office to work when his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV crashed through a damaged boundary wall into a nearly 30-foot-deep pit near ATS Le Grandiose. The car approached a 90-degree bend where the stretch was left exposed due to missing barricades. Thereafter, the car breaks via the weak road edge and plunged deep down into a 40-50 feet deep rainwater-filled excavation pit.
He was trapped for almost 90 minutes in icy water in the vehicle. Yuvraj managed to climb onto the roof of his car, flashed the torch light of his mobile phone and called his father for immediate help.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Uttar Pradesh Police and the Fire Department reached the accident venue but none of the personnel dived in to save Yuvraj due to icy cold water and possible risk of hidden iron rods. Moreover, they lacked the training, coordination and equipment to mount an effective and quick rescue.
Cranes could not reach, ropes fell short and officials were not trained well enough to swim and rescue, revealing disturbing gaps of the Noida administration in emergency preparedness.
Hemant Upadhyay, the ACP of Noida Police, remarked no one was willing to enter water due to the fear of more casualties happening if things went wrong.
Moninder, an eyewitness, tried to save Yuvraj but he was unable to find Yuvraj and his car due to poor visibility and dense fog.
Prior Complaints
Many residents had repeatedly complained to the authorities about the hazardous site, including the lack of reflectors, barricades, waterlogging and poor safety measures. However, all those complaints were ignored by authorities and developers.
After the death of Yuvraj Mehta, an FIR has been filed for culpable homicide and negligence against MZ Wiztown Planners and Lotus Greens.
