A Noida-based software professional drowned in a deep roadside pit last week— having spent hours screaming for help amid thick fog. Yuvraj Mehta had been returning home when his car fell into a water-filled ditch near an under-construction site on the night of January 16. The post mortem report explains that he suffocated as water and mud entered his lungs before suffering a cardiac arrest.
According to an Indian Express report, his nose was blocked with mud and water. The post-mortem analysis revealed water in his lungs and chest. The cause of death was listed as asphyxia due to ante mortem drowning followed by cardiac arrest.
The incident has led to allegations of negligence, delayed rescue efforts and protests by locals. Mehta’s father, Raj Kumar, has alleged negligence by local authorities and demanded that accountability be fixed in the matter so that “no one else loses their son like this” in future.
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Police on site, two hours spent pleading for help
Mehta had veered off the road less than a kilometre from home while returning late on Friday night. The vehicle went off the dark road before tipping over a low, partially broken boundary wall and plunging into the pit filled with water. According to the family, he had managed to climb out of the partially submerged car and stood atop its roof, screaming for help for nearly two hours before he drowned.
The police were present at the spot but did not enter the water to rescue him. SHO Sarvesh Sing said officials were hesitant because they suspected the ditch was an excavation done at a construction site. As such, it may have contained submerged iron rods. Police and fire services personnel were forced to wait for equipment and specialists — which ultimately arrived too late for rescue.
“Visibility was poor. We heard from local people that it was a construction site; our team didn’t want to enter the water… But we still did everything that was within our capacity,” Singh told The Indian Express.
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CM orders SIT probe
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the constitution of a three-member Special Investigation Team to probe the death. Officials told PTI on Monday that he had also ordered immediate identification and rectification of accident-prone spots across Uttar Pradesh.
The SIT will be headed by the additional director general of Meerut Zone. The Meerut divisional commissioner and the chief engineer of the Public Works Department have been included as members. As per an official statement, the team has been asked to complete the probe and submit its report to the chief minister within five days.
An FIR has also been registered against two real estate developers on charges of death due to negligence.
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