In Greater Noida’s Sector 150, a sharp 90-degree turn crosses a plot filled with water. A 2-foot-high wall runs along the perimeter of the plot, offering only a thin fence. In the background, high-rise structures, with gates high enough to climb up, loom over the stretch. In the January season of National Capital Region, smog turns everything grey.
On January 16, what should have been a routine drive home turned into Fatal for Yuvraj Mehta. Returning from his workplace in Gurugram, about 60 km away, and just a few meters away from his apartment in Eureka Park, his car lost the road at this sharp turn And fell into a pit filled with water.
“My son fought for his life for two hours while emergency response teams stood by and watched,” Yuvraj’s father Rajkumar told the media. The prince told how his son had survived the initial impact. The day after the incident, she told the media, “He managed to open his car door and call me from his phone. I immediately reached the spot. At first I didn’t know where to go, so I called him again. He told me he had fallen into a ditch near our house. So I went back. When I reached, I couldn’t see him; the fog was too thick. Then he switched on the flashlight on his phone.”
A few hours later, Yuvraj’s body was recovered from the dirty water. “If the rescue team had acted on time, my son could have been saved,” Rajkumar said.
The post-mortem revealed that he had suffered cardiac arrest and died of asphyxiation due to drowning. His family cremated him in Haridwar, a holy place for Hindus, where the river Ganges flows.
NDRF teams pulled out Yuvraj Mehta’s car from a water-filled pit at the Greater Noida construction site. | Photo Credit: ANI
The prince closed his doors to the world on January 21, a day after his son’s funeral. Outside the gated Eureka Park Society, journalists waited, pleaded and were turned away. “His mental condition is not good. He doesn’t want to meet anyone now,” a guard says in Hindi.
fog and fear
That night the prince was not the only one standing on the shore. “I heard someone yelling ‘Save, Save!’ Heard shouting. (Help, help!) I realized someone had fallen into the water,” says the man, who asked not to be named. “I called the police at 12:14 am (12:14 am) and a PCR (police control room) van reached the spot after about six minutes,” he says. He says Uttar Pradesh Police Force personnel tried to wade in the water, but could not do much. He further said, “He sent a message to the fire brigade, which reached the spot at 1:30 am.”
By that time, Yuvraj had managed to get out of his car and climb onto its roof, the faint torchlight of his phone keeping hope alive. “He kept screaming for help, calling for his father to come and save him. Finally, he said, ‘I can’t hear you anymore. Water is pouring into my ears’,” says the passerby, who stood by and watched until Yuvraj drowned.
Three days later, describing the scene at that place, a police constable says, “The pond you see today seemed like a sea then. The fog was so thick that I could not see the person standing next to me.”
E-commerce delivery agent Moninder Singh was also passing by. He says he entered the water voluntarily because no one knew how to swim. He says, “After taking permission from the police, I tied a rope around my body, wore a life jacket and went into the water. I searched for him for about half an hour, but could not find him.” He added, “The police and firefighters refused to do anything. They were saying the water was too cold; there was fog.”
As people started gathering at the site, some took out their phones to make videos. These will later be broadcast on social media. Visuals that later went viral showed a policeman wearing a life jacket carefully entering the water. The light of Yuvraj’s torch could still be seen flickering in the distance, but the policeman did not go more than a few feet inside.
Observers say the State Disaster Response Force team reached the spot at around 3:45 am and the National Disaster Response Force at around 4:15 am. Yuvraj’s body was recovered from the spot after a long search operation by NDRF. As soon as the news of his death spread, people became angry. He had many questions, all directed at the police, fire brigade, rescue teams and the Uttar Pradesh government.
Responding to the allegations, a senior police officer says, “It is not that we were not prepared. The fog was very dense, visibility was almost zero.”
On January 18, Yuvraj’s father filed a complaint at the Knowledge Park police station, citing negligence on the part of the heads of the Noida Authority and the plot’s owners M/s Viztown Planners; and Lotus Greens, the original owners, both real-estate companies.
The FIR was lodged under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence and act endangering life or personal safety of others.
light and dark
Online, a public outcry arose, with people telling stories of how they had been trapped in similar situations but were rescued in time; Offline, journalists, politicians, residents and the odd passerby stopped by the site.
Gurvinder Singh, a truck driver, says that on December 31, 2025, “My truck climbed over a 2-foot boundary wall and got stuck in the air. I was scared that I might fall into the water. But thankfully, I managed to open the door and jump out,” he says. Police took out the truck with the help of a crane. It’s day.
Residents of the area say that many accidents have already happened at the 90 degree turn. “First of all, there are no street lights in the entire area. There are no traffic signals, no boards or signage, forget about reflectors and fog lights,” says Deepika Sharma, who lives in a nearby apartment block complex.
Disturbed by the incident, another resident Kamini held back tears and said that she could have been in Yuvraj’s place. “Just a few days ago, my scooter fell into almost a similar ditch,” she says. “The entire area is like that,” she says. “I was coming back from Kondli market, which is just 10 minutes away from my house. As I was driving the scooter, suddenly there was fog. Within seconds, I realized that I had gone off the road. I saw that a car ahead of me had fallen half into a pond of water.”
“Residents of Eureka Park Society had repeatedly complained to the Noida Authority about waterlogging and absence of barricades, but no action was taken,” says Kranti Sharma, a resident of another nearby society.
The apartment block where the Mehta family lived has a banner outside the gate demanding “justice for Yuvraj”, with the text “Who is responsible for the loss of young lives?” Below his photo is a line in a black banner: “No development, no votes.”
action after inaction
Amid the public outcry, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Additional Director General (ADG) Meerut, Bhanu Bhaskar; Meerut Divisional Commissioner, along with Hrishikesh Bhaskar; and PWD Chief Engineer, Ajay Verma as members. The SIT was asked to submit its report within five days.
Meanwhile, the police arrested Abhay Kumar, CEO of real estate firm M/s Visiontown Planners, which owned the plot where Yuvraj drowned. The state government has also removed Lokesh M. from the post of CEO of Noida Authority. Before his removal, Lokesh had ordered the dismissal of a junior engineer and issued show cause notices to other officials. On January 22, two more builders associated with Vistown Planners and Lotus Greens were arrested, and the SIT visited the site to reconstruct the sequence of events.
In 2025, the Allahabad High Court had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the ₹9,000 crore land transfer scam in which this property was also involved.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi shared a video related to the incident on Twitter, highlighting the lack of accountability on the part of the government.
BJP leader and Gautam Buddha Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma expressed grief over the incident and said that it is a matter of concern that despite all the arrangements, the person could not be saved.
Politicians pointed to the UP government’s inaction against Noida District Magistrate Medha Rupam, as the State Rescue and Disaster Management Authorities (SDRF and District Disaster Management Authorities) fall under her administration. The news of her being the daughter of the Chief Election Commissioner was going viral on social media. After pressure from the people, she went to the spot four days later.
On January 22, the National Green Tribunal held the Noida Authority responsible for environmental violations, and sought explanation as to how uncontrolled rainwater and waste water accumulation caused the site to turn into a stagnant pond. It said a storm water management plan proposed in 2015, which included channeling excess water into the Hindon River, was never implemented despite survey and funding, leading to long-term water-logging.
Uttar Pradesh police and administration did not respond to the call.
shrimansi.kaushik@thehindu.co.in
Edited by Sunalini Mathew
