27-year-old Noida techie killed after car falls into 20-ft pit, locals slam Noida Authority

A 27-year-old software engineer died after his car plunged into a 20-feet-deep, water-filled pit dug for the basement of an under-construction building in Greater Noida’s Sector 150, police said. 

The incident occurred during early morning. A search operation was launched immediately, and the body was recovered later in the morning with the help of teams from the fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and local police. 

Police at the Knowledge Park police station received information at around 12:15 am that a vehicle had fallen into a pit near Sector 150. 

The deceased, identified as Yuvraj Mehta, was a resident of Tata Eureka Park society in Sector 150 and worked as a software engineer with a reputed firm in Gurugram. He was returning home from work at the time of the accident, police said. 

“The search operation was carried out with the help of the NDRF, SDRF, fire department and local police. The body was recovered at around 4 am on Saturday,” said Hemant Upadhyay, Additional Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida). 

Preliminary investigation suggests that fog and overspeeding could have led to the accident. The car is believed to have crossed a drain before falling into the pit. 

The body has been sent for post-mortem and further investigation is underway, police added. 

Following the incident, local residents staged a protest against the Noida Authority, alleging repeated negligence. Protesters claimed that similar accidents had happened earlier and authorities had been informed multiple times about the need for barricades and reflectors near the drain. 

“Residents had requested the Noida Authority to install barricades and reflectors, but no action was taken,” a protester alleged.

(With inputs from PTI)