BBCThe death of a 27-year-old Indian IT professional after his car fell into an unmarked construction pit has raised questions about urban planning and road safety in India.
On Friday, around midnight, Yuvraj Mehta was driving home to Noida, a suburb of the capital Delhi, through thick winter fog when his car reportedly hit a low boundary wall and plunged into a deep pit filled with water. The site was reportedly excavated several years ago before work ceased.
Mehta, who does not know how to swim, climbed onto the roof of his car when it started sinking and called his father who rushed to the spot and informed the emergency services. His father told reporters that Mehta stayed there for nearly two hours, flashing the flashlight on his phone and screaming for help.
Then, she stopped crying. By the time authorities recovered his body, nearly five hours had passed since the accident, local media reported.
Mehta’s tragic death made national headlines, and the fact that it happened so close to the capital city shocked and angered residents. Protests were held at the site of the accident, with demonstrators accusing the authorities of negligence and demanding accountability.
His death has also raised many questions about the state of India’s roads and urban planning.
“Death of Noida techie (Mehta) is indeed murder. Dreams shattered. Hard work wasted. Father’s hopes buried. All because of a failed system,” a user wrote on X.
“This tragedy raises deeper questions about the quality of infrastructure even in big cities like Noida,” said another.
Some users shared their own experiences of accidents due to bad roads, lack of adequate signage and poor lighting after dark. Others also complained about open drains and construction sites on roads near their homes that have become death traps, especially for children and the elderly.
YEARSSince the accident, the Noida police have registered two cases against the real estate developers of the construction site where the pit was located following a complaint by Mehta’s family.
On Sunday, the government of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Noida is located, removed a top official from the city’s governing authority and ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the rescue operation and the safety of the site.
Since then, police have arrested Abhay Kumar, one of the owners of the construction site, for alleged culpable homicide due to negligence under the Indian criminal code. Kumar is in custody and has not commented on the allegations.
The police said that the investigation is still ongoing and it is possible that more arrests will be made in the coming days.
In media interviews, Mehta’s father Rajkumar said he received a call from his son soon after the accident. He rushed to the spot but said the area was dark and shrouded in fog, and that his son could barely be seen in the submerged water.
He notified the police and the fire department and said rescue teams arrived at the scene shortly after. But he alleged that his son remained stranded for many hours because they did not have the resources to pull him out.
He added that his son’s life could have been saved if trained divers were sent to retrieve him, but it did not happen.
“He kept saying, ‘Papa mujhe bacha lo’ (Papa save me) in his last hours,” Rajkumar Mehta told NDTV news channel.
Getty ImagesMoninder, who has a name and is a delivery worker for an e-commerce platform, passed by and reportedly made a valiant attempt to save Mehta. He tied a rope around her waist and jumped into the icy water to pull her out, he told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
He added that he searched for Mehta for 30-40 minutes but could not find him. He also alleged that emergency responders were not prepared to enter the water, saying it was very cold and with iron handles inside the pit.
Noida’s additional police commissioner Rajeev Narain Mishra told the media that the incident was “unfortunate” but denied negligence.
“Police and fire department teams are trying to rescue the youth. A fire department crane, ladder, makeshift boat and searchlights were used, but there was zero visibility at the time,” he told the Times of India newspaper and added that further investigations are underway.
Hemant Upadhyay, assistant police commissioner for Noida, told British newspaper The Independent that no one was sent to the pit because officials were worried about more casualties if untrained personnel were sent.
“The water is very deep, visibility is poor and there are concerns about submerged debris,” he said.
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