Lucknow, Jan 22 (NationPress) Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday issued a stern criticism of the Uttar Pradesh government following the death of a software engineer in Noida, asserting that the unfortunate event was a result of administrative negligence.

The deceased, Yuvraj Mehta, aged 27 and working in Gurugram, was returning home late on January 16 when his vehicle plunged into a deep, water-filled pit close to a construction site in Sector 150, having navigated through a broken boundary wall amidst fog.

He reportedly perished after calling for help for almost two hours while his father, along with NOIDA police and fire department personnel, looked on helplessly.

Rescue efforts were delayed until the police, National Disaster Response Force, and State Disaster Response Force escalated their response, but by then, the extreme cold and dense fog had taken their toll and he had already succumbed. His father, Rajkumar Mehta, witnessed the entire ordeal.

Rajkumar Mehta stated that Yuvraj climbed onto the roof of the partially submerged vehicle and utilized his mobile phone's flashlight to indicate his location in the thick fog, continuously calling out for assistance.

However, the absence of adequate rescue equipment hampered the operation, and the darkness, along with dense fog and near-zero visibility, posed significant challenges.

Police and fire personnel refrained from entering the water, citing risks associated with the freezing conditions and the presence of under-construction columns nearby.

In addressing the media, Yadav emphasized that the focus should not be on the victim's activities prior to the incident or the location of the occurrence.

“The matter at hand is not about whether he was returning from a party or the incident's location. The key issue is why the government and its departments failed to save his life after the incident,” he questioned.

He further remarked that reports indicated officials hesitated to enter the pit due to the chilling waters.

“If someone has lost their life for this reason, it stems from the government's negligence. We must ensure that incidents like this do not happen again,” the former Chief Minister of UP asserted.

Meanwhile, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) looking into the death has filed a new FIR against five builders associated with Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd and MZ Wiztown Planners Pvt Ltd for purported violations of environmental and pollution control regulations.

The SIT continued its investigation for the third consecutive day on Thursday.

Officials familiar with the case revealed that the SIT has requested detailed information from various departments of the Noida Authority, including civil, projects, and traffic cells, regarding work conducted in Sector 150, especially around the area where the software engineer lost his life.

The three-member SIT is anticipated to submit its report to the Uttar Pradesh government by Saturday. SIT head and ADG of the Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, informed reporters of the timeline on the first day of inspections.

A fresh case was registered on Wednesday at the Knowledge Park police station against Abhay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Manish Kumar, Anchal Bohra, and Nirmal Kumar.

According to the complaint lodged by local Sub-Inspector Regal Kumar, a “very large and wide pit” was discovered during a patrol on January 20 at plot number SC-02/A3 in Sector 150, near a public road.

The pit, which appeared to have been excavated using heavy machinery, had been filled with water for several years.

The FIR noted that the pit was exceedingly deep and that the prolonged stagnation of water had caused significant pollution, resulting in muddy water over time.

It indicated that rainwater had washed garbage into the pit, exacerbating air and water pollution and posing serious risks to public health and safety.

Furthermore, police observed that there was no fencing, warning signs, or any other safety measures around the pit. Leaving such a large, open, and waterlogged excavation near a public road for an extended period posed a grave threat to human life and significantly heightened the risk of major accidents, the FIR stated, labeling it a public nuisance.

The FIR further revealed that multiple construction sites were situated in proximity to the pit, signaling breaches of construction management standards. Local residents also reported a foul odor emanating from the stagnant water, making it difficult to breathe when winds blew towards nearby residential areas.

During the inquiry, police discovered that the plot had been acquired from the Noida Authority in 2014 by Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd and was subsequently acquired in 2020 by Wiztown. The FIR noted that Lotus Greens Construction continues to maintain a stake in the property.

The initial FIR in this matter was filed on January 18 based on a complaint from Yuvraj Mehta’s father against MZ Wiztown Planners and Lotus Greens.

In the meantime, on Tuesday, Abhay Kumar, director of MZ Wiztown Planners, was apprehended. He was placed in judicial custody on Wednesday, officials confirmed, as the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the techie’s death is ongoing.