‘No reflectors, no signs’: Noida techie drowns in pit, last call to father -- ‘Papa, save me’

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• Software engineer Yuvraj Mehta died after his SUV fell into a deep pit in Noida
• Family alleges negligence due to lack of warning signs and poor road safety
• Police have launched a probe; protests erupted over the incident

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What should have been an ordinary late-night commute turned into a nightmare in Noida’s Sector 150. Around midnight on Friday, January 17, 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta was driving back home from work when his SUV veered off the road and plunged into a massive, water-filled pit nearly 70 feet deep. Dense fog, poor visibility and an unlit stretch of road proved fatal, police later said.

The pit, dug for a commercial project near ATS Le Gradiose, lay dangerously close to the service road. Its boundary wall was damaged, and there were no reflectors or warning signs to alert motorists navigating the area in thick fog.

'Please save me, don’t want to die,' he told his father

After the vehicle fell into the flooded excavation, Yuvraj managed to escape the car. Unable to swim, he climbed onto the roof of his Grand Vitara, balancing himself as the vehicle slowly sank. From there, surrounded by darkness and water, he began calling his father again and again.

“Dad, I’ve fallen into a deep pit filled with water. I’m drowning. Please come and save me. I don’t want to die,” he told his father, Rajkumar Mehta, in one of his final calls.

Yuvraj switched on his phone’s flashlight, waving it through the fog, hoping someone would spot him. His cries echoed from the pit, faint but desperate.

Voice heard in darkness, unable to be located

Rajkumar Mehta rushed to the spot within minutes after receiving his son’s calls and messages. Police personnel also reached the area quickly. But the thick fog made visibility almost zero. Though Yuvraj’s voice could be heard from somewhere below, neither his father nor the responders could locate him in the darkness.

“He was screaming at the top of his voice for help while standing on the car roof,” Yuvraj’s friend Pankaj Tokas later alleged, expressing anger over what followed. According to him, police personnel at the site did not enter the water because they could not swim.

'Kept pleading for help,' says a passerby who tried to help

A passerby, identified as Moninder, did attempt a rescue. He jumped into the cold, murky water, searching blindly for Yuvraj. “Yuvraj kept pleading for help,” Moninder told The Times of India. Despite his efforts, he could not find the trapped man.

Cranes were called, and the fire department and disaster response units were alerted. Sources told The Times of India that the State Disaster Response Force arrived first but lacked the necessary equipment. A National Disaster Response Force team was then summoned from Ghaziabad, taking about an hour to reach.

Fought to stay alive on the car roof

For nearly two hours, Yuvraj fought to stay alive on the car roof. His father waited above, running from one official to another, pleading for faster action. Around 1:45 am, the calls and cries stopped.

By the time the rescue operation succeeded, it was too late. Yuvraj’s body was finally recovered from the pit at about 4:30 am, nearly five hours after the SUV had plunged in. He was declared dead, and his body was sent for post-mortem examination.

Family alleges negligence, absence of reflectors, signage

Yuvraj Mehta, originally from Sitamarhi in Bihar, worked as a software engineer with Dunnhumby in Gurugram. His mother had died two years earlier, and his sister lives in the UK. “He worked very hard to qualify for his exams and build his career,” his father said, recounting his son’s final hours and repeated pleas of “papa, mujhe bacha lo”.

The family has filed a complaint alleging negligence by authorities, pointing to the absence of reflectors, signage, and covered drains along the service road. Residents of the area echoed these claims, saying they had raised safety concerns earlier.

The incident sparked protests and slogans against local authorities. Shortly after, the deep ditch was filled with garbage and debris. Police have said a probe is underway and that any negligence found will invite legal action.