'Culture of greed and neglect': Rahul Gandhi reacts to Noida techie’s death

Rahul Gandhi

• Rahul Gandhi blames "culture of greed" for Noida techie's death
• UP govt removes Noida CEO, arrests real estate firm head over incident
• Special Investigation Team formed to probe the techie's drowning

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reacted sharply to the death of a Noida-based software engineer, calling it a stark reflection of what he described as a growing “culture of greed” and disregard for human life in India.

In a video message shared on X, Gandhi linked the tragedy to environmental degradation, failing infrastructure and social apathy, saying such incidents expose the values society chooses to uphold.

“The culture of greed and disrespect towards other living beings is being propagated in India. The air we breathe, the water we are forced to drink and the crumbling infrastructure around us are the consequences of this greed. Yuvraj Mehta’s death is a direct consequence of this culture,” the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition said.

समस्या केवल भ्रष्टाचार नहीं, समाज में जड़ें फैलाती लालच की वो लत भी है जो भारतीय शासन की जवाबदेही निगल गई है।#TINApic.twitter.com/Hh6f4GncEi

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 20, 2026

Gandhi added that society’s response to such tragedies would determine the kind of future it builds. “How we react to his death, how we react to the pain of other people, how we react to the suffering of other people, is going to determine the type of society we live in,” he said.

The incident involved a 27-year-old techie whose car broke through a drain boundary and plunged into water near the Sector 150 intersection in Greater Noida on the night of January 16–17. The victim’s family has alleged gross administrative negligence, claiming that timely intervention could have saved his life as he struggled for nearly two hours.

A postmortem report later stated that the cause of death was “asphyxia due to antemortem drowning followed by cardiac arrest.”

In the aftermath, the Uttar Pradesh government removed M Lokesh from his posts as chief executive officer of Noida and managing director of the Noida Metro Rail Corporation. Police have also arrested Abhay Singh, CEO of real estate firm MZ Wiztown Planners, in connection with the case. He was produced in court and sent to one day of judicial custody.

The state government has constituted a Special Investigation Team to probe the incident. SIT head Bhanu Bhaskar said the team has begun its investigation and will submit its report within five days.

*With agency inputs