Police have registered a fresh FIR against five officials of a real estate firm in connection with the drowning death of software engineer Yuvraj Mehta in Noida Sector 150. A Special Investigation Team is examining the roles of local authorities and police in the incident. The tragedy occurred when Mehta's car fell into an unattended water-filled excavation pit on January 16.
On the night of January 16, 2026, 27-year-old Yuvraj Mehta, a software professional from Gurgaon, was driving home when his Grand Vitara car veered into a deep, water-filled pit at a construction site in Noida’s Sector 150. The pit, resulting from illegal excavation, lacked fencing, barricades, or warning signs. Mehta pleaded for help for nearly two hours, calling his father with cries of 'Papa, please save me, I will die,' but dense fog hampered rescue efforts by police, NDRF, and SDRF. He drowned despite the attempts.
This was not the first incident at the site. On January 2, truck driver Gurvinder Singh's vehicle rolled into a similar pond-like water body during a sharp 90-degree turn. Singh survived after passersby rescued him, but he claims a Noida Authority official later demanded money for damages. Infuriated by Mehta's death, Singh demands murder charges under BNS Section 103, stating, 'This is not an accident; it is negligence that amounts to killing. A case under 302 (now BNS 103 for murder) should be registered against the developer who dug such a massive pit and left it exposed, and against the authority responsible for road safety.'
The land was allotted to Lotus Greens Construction Private Limited in 2014 and transferred to MZ Wiztown Planners Private Limited. Police arrested MZ Wiztown director Abhay Kumar on Tuesday for failing to fence the site; a court remanded him to judicial custody on Wednesday. A fresh FIR was filed late Wednesday against five Lotus Greens officials, including a woman, for creating the unattended pit filled with stagnant water, under BNS Sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (death by negligence), and 125 (endangering life).
In response to public outrage, the Uttar Pradesh government removed the Noida Authority CEO on Monday and terminated a junior engineer. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General Bhanu Bhaskar, arrived Tuesday and questioned Noida Authority staff Wednesday. Bhaskar said the probe covers 'the cause of the death, who were responsible, and ways to ensure that such an incident is not repeated,' including roles of Noida Authority, administration, and police. The SIT will submit its report within five days. Forensic teams measured the site Wednesday amid ongoing investigations.
