In a major escalation in the tragic death of 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, whose car plunged into a waterlogged construction pit in Greater Noida, police have registered another FIR against five individuals and two real estate firms. The case invokes the Environmental Protection Act, Water Pollution Act, and Indian Penal Code (IPC), spotlighting alleged negligence in managing sewage and drainage hazards. Named accused include Abhay Kumar, Sanjay Kumar, Manish Kumar, Achal Bohra, and Nirmal Kumar- shareholders and directors of Lotus Greens Construction and Wiztown (MZ Wiztown Planners).
New FIR amid charges
The latest complaint, filed at Knowledge Park police station, holds the five accused responsible for environmental violations that contributed to the deadly pit's formation. Lotus Greens Construction Private Limited and Wiztown's partners face scrutiny for failing to address collapsed sewer lines and unchecked water accumulation since 2021. This FIR supplements earlier charges under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for culpable homicide (105), death by negligence (106), and endangering lives (125). Police acted on evidence of persistent waterlogging from sewage overflows and unaddressed drains, directly linking builder inaction to Yuvraj's fate.
Builder arrested, probe intensifies
Abhay Kumar, director of MZ Wiztown Planners and one of the named accused, was arrested earlier and remanded to a week in judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Surajpur. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyaya confirmed efforts to apprehend the remaining suspects, including those from Lotus Greens. Forensic teams collected samples from the Sector 150 site on Wednesday (January 21), measuring the road and the deep, pond-like pit from which Yuvraj's car was retrieved three days after the January 16 incident.
A three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Additional Director General of Police (Meerut Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar, grilled Noida Authority officials—including traffic cell staff- at their Sector 6 headquarters. The team also inspected the site, met Yuvraj's father Raj Kumar Mehta, and reviewed prior warnings.
Ignored warnings and systemic failures
Documents reveal a March 14, 2022, letter from MZ Wiztown Planners to Noida Authority's CEO, warning of collapsed sewer and drain lines flooding the basement of Plot SC/02, A-3. It cautioned that "any accident can happen unknowingly" without urgent repairs, noting sinking roads and failing barricades due to erosion.
A 2023 Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department letter further flagged Sector 150 waterlogging, urging head regulators to channel excess water to the Hindon river- a recommendation never implemented despite budget allocations. Officials admit rainwater and residential society discharges exacerbated the issue.
Yuvraj, a Gurugram techie heading home through dense fog, begged for help for nearly two hours after his car fell into the pit near the construction site. Despite NDRF, SDRF, and police efforts, he perished as his father watched helplessly.
Government crackdown and public outrage
Facing backlash, the Uttar Pradesh government removed Noida Authority's CEO, terminated a junior traffic engineer, and formed the SIT (including Meerut divisional commissioner and PWD chief engineer). The plot's ownership shifted from Lotus Greens to MZ Wiztown in 2021, but hazards persisted unchecked. This fresh FIR underscores how environmental lapses turned a construction site into a deathtrap, fuelling demands for stricter oversight on developers.
