Noida techie death: Car pulled out of water-filled pit three days after fatal accident

The car of the 27-year-old software engineer, who died after the vehicle plunged into a deep water-filled pit at a construction site in Noida's Sector 150, was recovered on Tuesday evening, three days after the accident that has triggered widespread outrage and prompted administrative action.

Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar told PTI that the operation to retrieve the car was challenging due to thick slush and presence of iron reinforcements in the pit.

Nearly two dozen personnel participated in the operation during which boats, cranes and large magnets were used.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay said the car was retrieved from the pit at around 6.30 pm following a coordinated operation involving multiple agencies.

Additional Commissioner of Police Rajiv Mishra said the SIT headed by ADG Meerut Zone Bhanu Bhaskar, constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government, also visited the incident spot.

Chief Fire Officer Kumar said that teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local police and the fire department were engaged in the recovery operation, which he personally supervised on the ground.

The car, a Maruti Grand Vitara used by the deceased Yuvraj Mehta, was traced around 2.30 pm after extensive efforts.

"The operation was challenging due to deep water, thick slush and iron reinforcements protruding inside the pit. Nearly two dozen personnel, along with cranes, small boats and expert divers, were deployed," Kumar said, adding that large magnets were also used to trace the submerged vehicle.

Yuvraj Mehta had met with the accident around 12.15 am on January 17 after his car skidded in dense fog, broke a drain boundary and fell into a deep, waterlogged pit dug for the basement of an under-construction commercial complex.

His father, Raj Kumar Gupta, and eye witnesses claimed the software engineer struggled for around 90 minutes, crying for help, before he drowned. He had come out of the drowning car and stood atop it flashing torch light from his phone even as police, NDRF and others stood on the road next to the drain attempting to rescue him, but in vain, the father claimed.

The police on Tuesday arrested Abhay Kumar, director of MZ Wiztown Planners, one of the two real estate developers named in an FIR lodged on a complaint by Mehta's father, who alleged negligence by authorities and builders. The other accused firm is Lotus Greens. They are accused of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other charges.

Following public outrage over the issue, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered the probe by the three-member SIT and removed the Noida Authority CEO.

Further investigations are continuing, the police said.