Noida techie death: Could Yuvraj Mehta have been saved from drowning?

“Papa, help me. I don’t want to die." These were Yuvraj Mehta’s final words before he drowned in the early hours of Saturday (January 17) in Noida. The 27-year-old software engineer was returning home from work when his vehicle plunged into a deep excavation pit filled with water in an empty plot in Sector 150. He reportedly stood atop his car for two hours, crying for help and later drowned.

Police and firefighters hesitated to enter the ditch due to the presence of dangerous iron rods and debris, eyewitnesses claimed. Calls were made to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) between 1.02 am and 1.10 am on that fateful day. Both teams, stationed in Ghaziabad, reached hours later. However, it was too late.

How did the mishap unfold

In dense fog, Yuvtaj Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society in Noida’s Sector 150, reportedly lost control of his vehicle while returning home from his office in Gurugram around 12:20 am on Saturday (January 17). His Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara broke through a damaged wall and fell into the pit. Despite the dire situation, Mehta climbed onto the roof of his partially submerged car and called his father for help. He also kept screaming for help in the dark for nearly 90 minutes. However, the vehicle slipped slowly into the swamp.

His father, Rajkumar Mehta, rushed to the site. Police personnel and fire department officials also gathered soon. Eyewitnesses claimed that while authorities argued over whether to start a rescue, the young Mehta remained standing on top of his sinking car for almost two hours, pleading repeatedly. Standing at the edge of the pit, the helpless father was unable to do anything.

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Locals noted that the water-filled ditch had no barriers, turning it into a death trap for drivers at a time when visibility was hampered by fog. By the time Mehta was pulled out, he had died. The postmortem report revealed that the cause of his death was “asphyxia due to antemortem drowning, followed by cardiac arrest.”

From first call to a lost letter: Series of lapses

According to officials, the first call was made to the Police Response Vehicle (PRV) at 12.06 am on Saturday (January 17) by Mehta’s father.

A team of nine police officials, including personnel from the nearby police chowki, arrived at the spot by 12:30 am. The Gautam Budh Nagar Fire Station received the first call at the same time, officials said, according to an Indian Express report.

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The Station House Officer (SHO) of the Knowledge Park Police Station in Greater Noida was informed of the incident at 12:40 am and arrived at the scene by 1 am, accompanied by four other officers. Fire services also arrived at nearly the same time, the report noted, citing officials.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) received the call at 1:02 am and 1:10 am, respectively. The SDRF arrived at 3:45 am, and the NDRF arrived at 4.15 am, according to authorities. However, Mehta had drowned around 2.30 am, they added.

Meanwhile, locals have revealed something alarming. They alleged that cops were afraid to go into the water themselves. Police and firefighters hesitated to enter the ditch due to the dangerous iron rods and debris inside, reported NDTV. 

A delivery agent, named Moninder, decided to save Mehta. However, his attempt was unsuccessful. “When I reached the spot at around 1.45 am, I saw personnel sitting on a ladder. They were saying the water was too cold and that there were iron rods inside, so they wouldn’t enter,” he told India Today. He also stated that the police team did not have any emergency equipment to rescue the techie.

That’s not all. While this deadly pit was on the radar of authorities, little was done to act on it.
According to the official records, the trench remained waterlogged because there was no proper outlet to drain rainwater into the Hindon River. The 2015 stormwater management plan drawn up by the irrigation department remained unimplemented despite several surveys and site inspections.

TOI accessed documents that revealed that the department had proposed a head regulator in 2015 to divert runoff into the Hindon. In 2016, it received Rs 13.5 lakh from the Noida Authority to conduct a survey and prepare a design.

However, after a joint site inspection on October 4, 2023, Noida Authority officials noted that stormwater from nearby sectors was connected to the existing drain, potentially increasing discharge, and recommended using hydraulic gates instead of mechanical ones.

The irrigation department had also requested an additional Rs 30 lakh for a new survey, but no action was taken. The consequences of the delay were clear during the 2023 monsoon, when Sector 150 and the surrounding areas experienced severe waterlogging. Without a regulator, rainwater could not be discharged into the Hindon River. Residents also accused the Noida Authority of inaction.

The Irrigation Department’s letter noted that funds had been allocated for the proposed project, but it was lost in the files, and the project was never carried out, reports NDTV. A Noida Authority official told the news agency PTI that he was not aware of any such letter.

What did the techie’s father say?

Mehta’s father alleged that despite the police’s presence, no immediate rescue attempt was made. He also claimed that rescuers refused to enter the water, citing extremely cold conditions and the risk of hidden iron rods. The grieving father asserted that if the required equipment had been used in time, his son might have survived.

He also said that most people at the scene watched my son drown and made videos. “My son was struggling to save himself. Every time we spoke on the phone, he kept saying, ‘Papa bachao, papa bachao’. He was also shouting ‘help, help’ so that people nearby could hear him, but most of the crowd was only watching. Some were even making videos,” the father told ANI.

#WATCH | Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh: Father of the deceased, Rajkumar Mehta, says, "My son was struggling to save himself... My son was crying out for help, asking people to help him, but most of the crowd was just watching. Some people were making videos... My son struggled… https://t.co/rsVsq1BaZa pic.twitter.com/vpfJ80ijGF

— ANI (@ANI) January 18, 2026

Alleging negligence by the administration, the heartbroken father told News18, “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,”, adding, “They only had ropes which couldn’t reach Yuvraj.”

What action has been taken?

Amid public outrage, the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Monday (January 19) removed Lokesh M from his post as the CEO of the Noida Authority. The state government set up a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to investigate the circumstances surrounding Mehta’s death.

A statement from the chief minister’s office said the SIT will be led by Additional Director General (Meerut zone) Bhanu Bhaskar, with Meerut Divisional Commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami and Public Works Department (Meerut) Chief Engineer Ajay Verma as members. The panel has been instructed to submit its report to the Chief Minister within five days.

“The entire matter is being investigated, and action will be taken against those responsible. Previous complaints by local residents are also being looked into.” Satish Pal Singh, the Additional CEO of Noida, told NDTV.

With inputs from agencies