Police in Noida have registered a case of culpable homicide against two real estate companies, while the Noida Authority has terminated an official, a day after a 27-year-old software engineer drowned after his car plunged into a water-filled excavation pit in Sector 150, officials said on Sunday.
The victim, identified as Mehta, was returning home from his office in Gurugram when his vehicle fell into the pit on a vacant plot around midnight. The incident has triggered outrage over alleged negligence and safety lapses at the site.
FIR Names Two Builders, Probe Underway
Assistant Commissioner of Police Hemant Upadhyay said the case was registered at Knowledge Park police station on the basis of a complaint filed by the victim’s father. The FIR invokes Sections 105 (culpable homicide), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“On the complaint of the deceased’s father, a case has been lodged against two builders who own the plot,” Upadhyay said.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Gautam Budh Nagar) Rajeev Narayan Mishra confirmed that the FIR names MZ Wiztown Planners Ltd and Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd. “The incident took place on their land. Investigation is underway to identify any lapses,” he said.
In response, Lotus Greens issued a statement condemning 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 the land was received in an “excavated condition” and that no permission had been granted to begin construction there.
Rescue Hampered By Fog, Lack Of Barricades
According to police and details in the FIR, Mehta’s Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara jumped a drain while navigating a turn amid dense fog and fell into the excavation pit, estimated to be about 50 feet deep and filled with rainwater. The site reportedly had no barricades, warning signs or reflective markers.
Police said Mehta managed to climb onto the roof of the partially submerged vehicle and called his father, who rushed to the spot and alerted emergency services. Teams from the police, fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were deployed, but rescue efforts were severely hampered by darkness, thick fog and the pit’s distance from the road.
An officer involved in the operation said repeated attempts to reach the victim failed. Ropes thrown fell short, while a crane and ladders brought in by firefighters could not span the gap. Mehta remained on top of the vehicle for nearly 90 minutes before 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 installed in the area, visibility was drastically reduced because of fog, which may have caused Mehta to misjudge the turn. “Prima facie, it is suspected that Mehta was driving at a high speed,” ACP Upadhyay said.
Meanwhile, the Noida Authority on Sunday terminated a junior engineer from the Noida Traffic Cell and issued show-cause notices to officers and staff responsible for traffic-related work in the area. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, cited overspeeding and near-zero visibility as contributing factors, even as investigations continue into alleged administrative and safety failures.