As the Noida techie’s death incident sparked allegations of negligence, delayed rescue operations and protests by locals, truck driver Gurvinder Singh, who survived an accident two weeks ago at the same spot where software engineer Yuvraj Mehta died, highlighted the helplessness of the police and claimed they “did nothing” after he plunged into the deep water of ND, according to television.
He reportedly said the drain and ditch were barely 10 paces from the road and lacked any signboards or barricades. He said the truck hit a drain wall and ran over it, leaving the front tires suspended in the air while the middle tires stuck on the wall. He added that he jumped out of the truck and fell into the water up to his neck.
Gurvinder mentioned that he suffered internal injuries and stutters since the traumatic incident.
“I fell into the ditch at around 12.30 am. Some locals helped me around 4 am. About two hours after I fell, two policemen came but did nothing. If the district administration wanted, a digger could have been brought immediately,” the report quoted Singh as saying.
He further claimed that a team from the Noida office arrived around noon and asked who would bear the cost of the damaged wall, telling them that he had just survived the incident.
He said he has been a driver for two decades.
“We are checking if the wheels crossed the road. As soon as I realized what happened, I applied the handbrake. The truck still hit the wall. This is my second life. Guruji saved me,” he said.
Noida techie death case
Mehta, 27, who worked in Gurugram, died after his car plunged into a deep, water-filled pit near an under-construction construction site while he was returning home to Sector 150 on the night of January 16, despite pleading for help for nearly two hours.
Singh claimed, “This man died. Who knows how many more people would have died? There is no barricade or signboard. The administration is responsible. If the administration wanted, the excavator would have arrived in a few minutes.”
CM Yogi Adityanath took cognizance of the incident and ordered the formation of a three-member SIT to probe the circumstances surrounding Mehta’s death. An FIR has also been lodged against two property developers for wrongful death.
Apart from the SIT probe, Adityanath directed officials to identify accident-prone spots across Uttar Pradesh and ensure that remedial measures are taken without delay. He emphasized that all necessary measures should be taken to prevent similar incidents anywhere in the state.
The Chief Minister also expressed his condolences to the bereaved, the statement said.
Mehta’s father, Raj Kumar, accused the local authorities of negligence and called for remedial action so that “no one else loses their son like this” in the future.
