Techie’s death: Court sends builder to 6 days in judicial custody

Around three years ago the builder had attempted to place a unipole without the authority’s permission and was fined ₹6 lakh

A city court on Wednesday ordered the Gautam Budh Nagar police to clarify who was liable for maintenance of the drain that led to water accumulation in a Sector 150 plot which resulted in the drowning death of a 27-year-old software engineer even as it sent a builder arrested in the case to six days in judicial custody.

A letter written by developer MZ Wiztown Planners to the Noida Authority in March 2022 flagged the collapse of the sewer and main drain lines and warned that “any accident can happen” at the water-filled excavation site in Sector 150 owned by the company, PTI reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. (HT Photo)

MZ Wiztown promoter Abhay Kumar was arrested on Tuesday, three days after Yuvraj Mehta, whose car plunged into a deep, waterlogged excavation pit on a vacant plot in Sector 150, died. An FIR was registered against two real estate developers Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd and MZ Wiztown Planners Pvt Ltd on Sunday under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They have denied their role.

Kumar, a resident of the Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi, was produced in court on Wednesday. “We produced all documents related to previous complaints with the Noida authority regarding the drainage issue, non-commencement of the project, and fines imposed by the Noida authority against the builder in the past on Tuesday. After this, the court listed the matter for21 Januaryand asked the investigating officer (IO) to approach the court with proper investigation,” Swastik Verma, one of the advocates representing builder Kumar, told HT.

On Wednesday, a document produced before the court by the IO and accessed by HT said that around three years ago the builder had attempted to place a unipole without the authority’s permission and was fined ₹6 lakh. In response, the defence counsel informed the court that the builder had placed multiple barricades around his plot and installed some flags on barricades for advertising the project. But instead of removing the only the flags, the authority removed the barricades as well.

“We informed the court that water accumulated at the plot due to leakage in the authority’s drain, and multiple complaints were filed as well,” Verma said.

The court recorded the statements of the IO and chief judicial magistrate Sanjiv Kumar Tripathi, and then directed the IO to investigate who was responsible for the drainage issues, maintenance, and other crucial points, including how water accumulated in the plot, and who should be held responsible for the lapses. The case was subsequently listed for January 27.

While explaining the short remand, Verma said, “The court entertained our bail application only after we informed it that the accident did not happen solely due to the fault of the developer or the builder.”

Developer flagged sewer collapse, waterlogging to Noida Authority in 2022

A letter written by developer MZ Wiztown Planners to the Noida Authority in March 2022 flagged the collapse of the sewer and main drain lines and warned that “any accident can happen” at the water-filled excavation site in Sector 150 owned by the company, PTI reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The letter, accessed by PTI, addressed to the Noida Authority CEO and dated March 14, 2022, also cautioned that the barricading installed at the site was collapsing as the adjoining road was sinking due to soil erosion and water pressure, and urged the Authority to urgently restore the damaged lines and pump out accumulated water to prevent an accident.

Copies of the letter were marked to senior officials of the Authority’s planning and works departments, as well as the police commissioner and the local SHO.

According to Noida Authority officials, the accident site, Plot A-3, was carved out after the subdivision of Sports City Plot No. 2 by the lead developer, Lotus Green. The 27,185-sq-m plot, designated for commercial use, was subsequently taken over by MZ Wiztown Planners in 2021.

Further, a 2023 letter from the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department to the Noida Authority, also accessed by PTI, had warned about persistent waterlogging in Sector 150 and recommended the construction of head regulators to flush excess rainwater and drain discharge into the Hindon river. The communication noted that budgetary provisions had been made, but the project was never implemented.

Officials acknowledged that water accumulated at the site not only due to rainfall but also because of continuous discharge from drains connected to nearby residential societies.

With restrictions on releasing excess water into the Hindon River, the water level continued to rise, turning the excavation into a lake-like pit.