Nose clogged with mud, water in chest: Noida techie’s autopsy tells story of drowning

Yuvraj Mehta’s nose was blocked with mud and water, and there was water in his lungs and chest: these details are part of the autopsy report of the Noida-based software professional who drowned in a deep pit in the early hours of Saturday, The Indian Express has learnt.

The report is learnt to have cited the cause of death as asphyxia due to ante mortem drowning, followed by cardiac arrest.

Around midnight on Friday, Yuvraj (27) was driving to his home in Noida’s Sector 150 from Gurgaon through dense fog. Less than a kilometre from home, his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara went off the dark road, over a low, partially broken boundary wall, and plunged into the pit filled with water.

According to the victim’s family, Yuvraj 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, who were present at the spot, did not enter the water to rescue him. Knowledge Park Station House Officer (SHO) Sarvesh Singh told The Indian Express that they were hesitant because they suspected the ditch was an excavation done at a construction site, and could contain submerged iron rods.

“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 said.

Yuvraj, who had lost his mother two years ago, lived with his father at Tata Eureka Park housing society in Sector 150. He was the sole earning member of the family.

The water-filled plot is very large, and resembles a lake framed by a dense growth of bushes and tall grasses. A section of the concrete boundary wall of the plot is damaged; large chunks of concrete are missing, exposing rusted reinforcement bars inside.

The Greater Noida Police on Sunday registered an FIR against real estate companies MZ Wiztown Planners Private Limited and Lotus Greens Construction Private Limited. Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS) including culpable homicide, causing death by negligence, and endangering life and personal safety have been invoked against them.

A spokesperson for Lotus Greens issued a statement saying it had “no role to play because the said plot was transferred in 2019-20 to… [another company] with the approval of the Noida Authority”.

Abhay Kumar, Director, Wiztown, said the land was sold to them by Lotus Greens and was already excavated in 2020. “However, the Noida Authority withheld commencement permission, effectively paralysing the project,” he alleged.

On Sunday, the Noida Authority asked for a report on the allocation and construction work of Lotus Builders and instructed all departments to re-inspect the safety of under-construction projects in their areas.

Neetika Jha is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in t... Read More