After a 27-year-old man drowned in a deep ditch in Noida’s Sector 150 with police and rescuers allegedly listening to his screams but not acting, police have registered an FIR against two real estate companies whom they have accused of negligence and culpable homicide.
One of the two companies named by police, however, issued a statement saying it no longer had possession of the plot, and residents pointed to the absence of basic road safety in the area, including the absence of street lights, barricades and reflectors.
Software professional Yuvraj Mehta, who lived in Noida and worked for a company in Gurgaon, allegedly drove his car off the dark road and through a broken boundary wall into the ditch, said to be tens of feet deep, in the fog around 12.30 am on Saturday.
According to the victim’s family, Mehta managed to climb out of the partially submerged car and stood on its roof, screaming for help for nearly two hours. Although his voice could be heard, he was apparently not visible in the fog. Mehta’s father Raj Mehta has alleged that police personnel had reached the spot but refused to enter the water, allegedly citing safety concerns and the inability to swim.
In his complaint to police, Raj Mehta alleged that poor visibility and the damaged boundary wall caused the car to plunge into the ditch. He also claimed that local residents had earlier requested the Noida Authority to barricade the drain and install reflectors, but no action had been taken.
Calling the incident “very tragic”, Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Rajeev Mishra said the local police, in coordination with the Fire Brigade, had taken “swift action” and deployed ladders, cranes, searchlights and a makeshift boat.
“The final rescue was ensured with the involvement of the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force). There was zero visibility at the time of the incident. Based on the written complaint filed by the victim’s family, a case has been registered. Strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty.”
Circle Officer Hemant Upadhyay told The Indian Express that a case had been registered against two real estate companies under Sections 105, 106 and 125 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), dealing with culpable homicide, causing death by negligence, and endangering life and personal safety. “The car is yet to be recovered,” he said.
A spokesperson for the real estate company Lotus Greens, however, issued a statement saying it bore no responsibility for the tragedy. “Being a responsible company, we fully condemn this incident. But unfortunately, Lotus Greens has no role to play because the said plot was transferred in 2019-20 to… [another company] with the approval of Noida Authority… We understand the family’s pain and we are standing with them in getting justice,” the statement said.
In a statement, Noida Authority said: “Chief Executive Officer of Noida Authority, Shri Lokesh M has taken punitive action in the case of death of an engineer by drowning in the basement of an under-construction mall in Sector 150.”
The statement added that a show-cause notice had been issued to officers and employees responsible for traffic-related work in the area, and the services of a junior engineer had been terminated.
A resident of Samridhi Luxuriya Avenue in Sector 150, who identified herself as Kamini, said: “We have never had street lights in this area. We lack basic facilities.”
Another resident, who said her name was Jhalak, said: “Even when the SDRF team reached, they kept saying that they did not know how to swim. The person died, flashing his phone light. There have been so many complaints but no action has been taken.”
Yuvraj Mehta, 27, was returning home when his car plunged into the drain. (Express Photo, enhanced with AI) 
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