‘I don’t want to die’: The harrowing tale of 27-yr-old Noida techie, who died after car fell in ditch

“My son was struggling to save himself. He kept shouting ‘help’ in the hopes that the public would save him. But most of the crowd was just watching.”

This is the lament of a father, Rajkumar Mehta, after his 27-year-old son, a software engineer identified as Yuvraj Mehta, died after he lost control of his car, which then plunged into a deep, water-filled pit at a construction site in Greater Noida.

But what happened to Yuvraj? How did the 27-year Noida techie pass away? Was it a case of authorities’ apathy?

Noida techie’s car plunges into 70-feet pit, drowns

On Friday night (January 16), 27-year-old Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society in Sector 150 was returning home from work — he was an employee of customer data science company Dunnhumby in Gurugram — when his car collided with a high-ground ridge that separates two adjacent drainage basins, and fell into a 70-feet-deep ditch filled with water.

Greater Noida’s Additional Commissioner of Police, Hemant Upadhyay, told PTI that preliminary investigations suggest that poor visibility due to dense fog and overspeeding may have led to the accident, following which the car crossed a drain and fell into the pit.

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Once the car plunged into the water-filled pit, Mehta, who didn’t know swimming, managed to get out of his car, climbed onto its roof and even called his father and friend. On the call with his father, Mehta even said: “Dad, I’ve fallen into a deep pit filled with water. I’m drowning. Please come and save me. I don’t want to die.”

Soon enough, local police, divers, and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams arrived at the scene and initiated a rescue operation. And following a five-hour rescue effort, the techie and car were pulled out of the ditch. However, Mehta was declared dead.

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A valiant but futile rescue attempt

After the Noida techie fell into the water-filled pit and began screaming for help, a Flipkart delivery agent, named Moninder, volunteered to help Mehta. The agent said he saw Mehta holding a torch and screaming for help.

He told NDTV that the fire brigade officials “lacked the willpower” to enter the drain at night. Realising Mehta was struggling to breathe, Moninder tied a rope around his waist and jumped inside the drain to try save him. However, Mehta had already died.

Moninder later even told News18 that the authorities at the spot pretended to rescue Mehta, and it was him that jumped into the drain. “I had to deliver an order around 1:40 am. When I reached the spot, I enquired about what was going on there. A few people told me that a man had been trapped in the pit since midnight. The police came here. They called the fire department, which got here within 15-20 minutes. The State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) teams reached the site a bit late. However, despite having the required equipment and necessary safety materials, the man’s car was floating on top of the water for about two hours. He kept pleading for help, which fell on deaf ears. There were over 100 men around, but no one stepped up to help him.”

He was further quoted as saying, “They asked me if I knew how to swim. I agreed. However, I also asked them why nobody was going to help the man. I noticed that the fire department was fully equipped with fire safety jackets and a crane. The man was alive when the fire department was here. They could have saved him 100 per cent. They were well-equipped.”

Mehta’s grieving father criticises rescue efforts

Rajkumar Mehta was grief-stricken as he saw his techie son struggling for his life. Recounting the ordeal, the father alleged that his son remained alive for nearly two hours, crying for help, while most people at the spot “were just watching and making videos”.

“My son was struggling to save himself. He kept repeating ‘papa bachao, papa bachao’ every time we spoke on the phone. He was also shouting ‘help, help’ so that general public might hear his cry for help, but most of the crowd was just watching. Some people were making videos,” he told news agency ANI.

The grieving father further added, “The incident took place around 12 am, and by 2.30, the signal stopped coming from my son’s end. “My son struggled for two hours to save his life. Had he been given little support, he might have survived.”

The Noida techie’s father also questioned the authorities’ preparedness in the rescue efforts. “The SDRF team came around 3 am. It took two hours to prepare the boat to go inside. They came late. The boat that was supposed to help my son reached only after two hours to fetch his body,” a heartbroken Rajkumar told News18, adding, “They only had ropes which couldn’t reach Yuvraj.”

He alleged that there was negligence by the administration in this entire matter.

Rajkumar noted, “He was my only son, his sister is in the UK. He had a bright future ahead. He had studied hard to clear his exams.”

Police steps in after Noida techie’s death

Following the 27-year-old’s death, an FIR has been registered against two builders — MJ Wishtown Planner Limited and Lotus Green Construction Private Limited — at the Knowledge Park police station.

“On the complaint of the deceased’s father, a case at Knowledge Park police station under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered against the two builders who own the plot,” Hemant Upadhyay, ACP, Greater Noida told Hindustan Times.

The family of the Noida techie allege that the builders hadn’t properly secured the plot with a boundary wall, fencing or reflectors, turning it into a death trap. The FIR states, “There was no barricading reflector around the plot, which caused the incident. There was serious negligence on the part of the builders.”

The techie’s father even added that the spot had long been a hazard and repeated warnings to the Noida Authority had gone unheeded.

Residents of the area have added that a similar accident took place around 10 days ago when a truck driver hit the same drain wall. Despite that no action was taken, resulting in Friday’s tragic incident.

With inputs from agencies