Noida CEO transferred, put on waitlist after techie falls into water-filled pit with car, dies

The Uttar Pradesh administration on Monday, January 19,transferredNoida Chief Executive Officer Lokesh M, placing the official on a waitlist status.

This executive shuffle follows Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s directive to establish a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine the tragic death of Yuvraj Mehta. The 27-year-old software engineer died on Saturday after his vehicle plunged into a water-logged excavation in Sector 150.

While the government offered no formal explanation for the CEO’s sidelining, Lokesh, a 2003-batch IAS officer, had also served as the de facto Managing Director of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC).

The SIT inquiry will be led by the Meerut Zone’s Additional Director General (ADG), supported by the Meerut divisional commissioner and the Public Works Department’s (PWD) chief engineer.

"The team has been asked to conduct a detailed investigation and submit its report to the chief minister within five days," according to an official statement.The fatality sparked intense backlash regarding administrative oversight and rescue inefficiencies.

Mehta drowned in the early hours of Saturday when his car drove into an open construction pit amid thick fog while he was returning home.

His family members and local residents held protest marches, citing criminal negligence by the Noida Authority and private developers. The victim’s father, Raj Kumar Mehta, has demanded strict accountability to ensure that no other family suffers a similar loss due to such avoidable safety failures.

Yuvraj Struggled for 2 Hours

The family claimed that timely intervention could have saved his life as he struggled in the water for nearly two hours.

Rajkumar Mehta told ANI: "My son was struggling to save himself. My son was crying out for help, asking people to help him, but most of the crowd was just watching. Some people were making videos."

"My son struggled for 2 hours to save his life. The officials and staff present were unable to save him. They did not have any divers. There is negligence on the part of the administration in this entire matter," he added.

What Postmortem Report Says?

The postmortem report of Yuvraj Mehta revealed the cause of death to be "asphyxia due to antemortem drowning followed by cardiac arrest".

Rajesh Kumar, an official from the Public Health Department of the Noida Authority, on Monday said that water at the accident site was flowing from a drain that is cleaned regularly.

Speaking to reporters, Kumar said: "The water is coming from this drain. The drain is cleaned regularly."

The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Knowledge Park Police Station on the night of January 16-17, when Yuvraj's car broke through the boundary of a drain at the Sector 150 intersection and fell into the water, police said.