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Noida techie death: 2 more shareholders of water-filled Noida plot arrested
Yuvraj Mehta, 27, a resident of Noida’s Sector 150, died in the early hours of Saturday after his car plunged into a deep, waterlogged excavation pit on the vacant plot
Two more shareholders of the water-filled Sector 150 plot in Noida, where a 27-year-old techie died after his car plunged into it early Saturday morning, were arrested on Thursday. Four teams have been formed to arrest the suspects named in the case.
The two suspects were identified as Ravi Bansal, a resident of Sector 21D in Faridabad, Haryana, and Sachin Karanwal of Shalimar Garden in Ghaziabad, police said. “Bansal and Karanwal are office bearers at Lotus Greens Pvt Ltd, and they also hold shares in the plot,” said additional police commissioner Rajeev Narayan. He added that more arrests were likely.
On Thursday, police filed another first information report (FIR) in the matter under the Environment (Protection) Act, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, and BNS sections, including 290 (negligent conduct concerning buildings or structures), against the five plot shareholders, including MZ Wiztown promoter Abhay Kumar.
On Monday, police filed a case of culpable homicide, causing death by negligence, and an act endangering life against MZ Wiztown and Lotus Greens. The Wiztown promoter was arrested on Tuesday. A local court sent him to six-day judicial custody on Wednesday.
In a statement, Lotus Greens denied responsibility, claiming the plot was transferred to another party with the Noida Authority’s approval in 2019-20. The promoter of MZ Wiztown Planners said that he received the land in “an excavated condition” and that he was not granted permission to commence the project there.
Yuvraj Mehta, a software engineer, was returning home from his office in Gurugram when he reportedly lost control of his vehicle in dense fog, broke through a low boundary at a sharp 90-degree turn, and fell into the pit.
According to investigators and eyewitness accounts, Mehta managed to climb onto the roof of his partially submerged car and called his father for help. Police, firefighters, the State Disaster Response Force and National Disaster Response Force teams reached the site, but failed to save him. For nearly 90 minutes, Mehta remained trapped, calling for help as his vehicle slowly sank. By the time he could be pulled out, he had died.
