Police on Sunday filed a case of culpable homicide against two real estate companies, while the Noida authority sacked an official, a day after a 27-year-old software engineer drowned in a water-filled excavation pit on a vacant plot in Sector 150, officials said.
The Noida authority on Sunday terminated the services of a junior engineer of Noida Traffic Cell and issued show-cause notices to the concerned officers and staff responsible for traffic-related work in the area, officials said.
Assistant commissioner of police Hemant Upadhyay said a case had been registered based on a complaint filed by the victim’s father. “On the complaint of the deceased’s father, a case at Knowledge Park police station under sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was lodged against two builders who own the plot,” he said. HT has accessed a copy of the FIR.
Additional commissioner of police (Gautam Budh Nagar) Rajeev Narayan Mishra confirmed that the FIR named two firms. “A case has been registered against the two firms that own the plot – MZ Wiztown Planners Ltd and Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd – as the incident took place on their land. Investigation is underway to identify any lapses.”
In a statement, Lotus Greens condemned the incident but denied responsibility, claiming the plot had been transferred to another party with the Noida authority’s approval in 2019-20. The promoter of MZ Wiztown Planners said that he received the land in “an excavated condition” and that he was not granted permission to commence the project there.
The incident occurred around midnight as Mehta returned home to Tata Eureka Park from his Gurugram office. Navigating a turn in dense fog, his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara reportedly jumped a drain and landed in the pit, which police and the FIR describe as approximately 50 feet deep, filled with rainwater, and lacking any barricades or reflective warnings.
According to police, Mehta managed to climb onto the roof of his submerged vehicle and called his father, who rushed to the scene and alerted emergency services. Teams from the police, fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived but were thwarted by a combination of darkness, thick fog, and the pit’s distance from the road.
A police officer involved in the operation detailed a series of failed attempts: ropes thrown fell short; a crane and ladders deployed by firefighters could not bridge the gap. For nearly ninety minutes, Mehta stood atop the car until it sank completely. “Due to dense fog, the NDRF took time to reach from Ghaziabad. Eventually, his body was recovered using a boat,” the officer said.
While streetlights were present in the area, the fog severely reduced visibility, possibly causing Mehta to misjudge the turn. “Prima facie, it is suspected that Mehta was driving at a high speed,” said ACP Upadhyay.
Noida Authority officials, speaking anonymously, cited overspeeding and near-zero visibility as primary causes, the administrative punishments suggest internal recognition of supervisory failure.
CEO Lokesh M said a joint police and district administration inquiry is underway. “Police and the district administration are conducting an inquiry,” he said. In the evening, he announced show-cause notices to staff responsible for traffic-related work in the Sector 150 area, and said that the services of a junior engineer have been terminated with immediate effect.
Police said they would hold a meeting with Noida authority officials to discuss safety concerns in the area. Temporary barricades have been placed at turn, officials said.
The firms named in the FIR offered conflicting defences.
A spokesperson of Lotus Greens said, “We condemn this incident. But Lotus Greens has no role to play in the incident because the said plot was transferred in 2019-20… with the approval of Noida authority. We understand the family’s pain and we are standing with them in getting justice.”
Abhay Kumar, promoter of MZ Wiztown Planners, alleged he received the land already excavated and was never granted permission to commence work. He portrayed himself as a minority director, stating shares were controlled by a lender to Lotus Greens, and cited multiple pending court cases involving the land. “It is completely a case of an accident and an unfortunate incident,” Kumar said, adding he had previously complained to the Authority about broken drainage lines contributing to waterlogging.