In Noida, 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta drowned after his car plunged into a water-filled ditch. An FIR has been filed against the two builders for negligence, while friends and family say rescue teams were slow to respond during the tragic incident, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Here are ten key takeaways from the incident –
What is the incident about?
Mehta’s car was submerged after it crashed through the boundary wall of a roadside drain around midnight, allegedly due to poor visibility due to fog. The body was found on Monday.
FIR registered against builders
An FIR has been lodged against the two builders who own the project and the police have charged them with causing the death due to negligence, the report said.
“On the complaint of the deceased’s father, a Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) case under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life) has been registered at the Knowledge Park police station against two builders who own the land,” Hemant ACP, Great Newserida, told No.
Read also | ‘The water is too cold’: Eyewitness calls for rescue after death of Noida technician
Police are releasing details about the incident
Police informed that Mehta was driving a Grand Vitara when he lost control on a curve. The vehicle struck a drain boundary wall and fell into a flooded basement, the report said.
The cause of the accident
Police said a preliminary investigation suggests poor visibility and excessive speed may have been factors in the crash. “They dug a big channel, about six to seven feet wide. Due to poor visibility and high speed, it seems the driver lost control,” Upadhyay told the news portal.
NDRF joined
Around midnight, the police called in teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force and the fire brigade. The teams found the body of the deceased after hours of searching, HT reported earlier.
Read also | ‘Save me’: Noida technician calls father after car falls into canal amid thick fog
Accusations against rescue teams
Friends of the victim claimed the teams did not respond quickly enough. “Rescue teams arrived only at 2.30am and could not even enter the water till 3.20am,” Pankaj, a friend of the deceased, told HT.
Mehta’s chilling plea
Eyewitnesses recounted Mehta’s terrifying plea for help before he suddenly fell silent. Family members also expressed concern about the speed and handling of the rescue effort, which took several hours.
“For about an hour and forty-five minutes, he kept pleading for help, saying, ‘Please save me, save me in any way possible,'” HT quoted Moninder as saying.
An eyewitness blames the authorities
Moninder, a delivery man and eyewitness who entered the canal to try to help the technician, described what he called “negligence on behalf of the authorities”.
Speaking to News18, the delivery man’s agent said, “The police came here. They called the fire brigade, which arrived within 15-20 minutes. The SDRF teams arrived at the spot a little late. However, despite the necessary equipment and necessary safety materials, the man’s car floated on the surface for about two hours. He kept pleading for help, which fell on deaf ears, but no one gave him any advice, no one gave him any advice.”
Firefighters could have saved him, according to an eyewitness
“I noticed the fire department was fully equipped with fire jackets and a crane. The man was alive when the firefighters were there. They could have saved him 100 percent. They were well equipped,” Moninder said.
The victim called her father
Raj Kumar Mehta, father of the victim, said his son managed to call him soon after the accident. “The son himself called me when he was trapped.
The father arrived at the scene but stated that he could not help as the water was too deep. “The police did get there, but they couldn’t do much because they didn’t have a swimmer with them. If there was a swimmer, someone could have reached him because the water was very deep,” he said, according to Reuters.