Police gave me a script, claims delivery agent who tried to save Noida techie

Noida techie death

From alleged lapses in rescue efforts to eyewitness being ‘forced’ by police, shocking details have emerged in the case of a Noida techie's death have surfaced since the early hours of Saturday.

Yuvraj Mehta, a 27-year-old software engineer, was heading back home from work late on Friday when his regular drive turned fatal. His car fell into a water-filled pit in Sector 150 in Noida and despite hours of attempts to be saved, the man drowned.

As he drove into the intersection of Sector 150, his car broke through the boundary of a drain and fell into the water. Mehta, who then climbed to the roof of the car and called his father for help at around midnight, finally drowned to death after hours of waiting and lack of rescue efforts.

What we know so far?

Since his death, several details in the case have come to light.

According to media reports, as Mehta drove into the intersection of Sector 150, his car broke through the boundary of a drain and fell into the water. Mehta then climbed to the roof of the car and called his father for help at around midnight but drowned after hours of waiting and lack of rescue efforts.

“My son himself called me while he was trapped. He said, ‘Papa, I am stuck, the car has fallen into the drain’,” Mehta's father Raj Kumar told Hindustan Times.

'Police gave me a script'

A delivery agent, identified as Moninder, who reached the spot at around 1.45 am on Saturday decided to enter the pit. “I tied a rope around my waist and went into the water myself. I searched for the youth and his car for around 30 minutes,” the delivery agent said, adding that Mehta could be saved if help would have arrived just ten minutes earlier.

On the same day, he said the police gave him a ‘script’. He said that he was called by the police who had told him that senior officers wanted to talk to him regarding the case. When he reached there, they took him to a park, close to Knowledge Park police station and scolded him for speaking to the media. “I was directed to give statements in favour of the police, saying that cops were inside the water and did all possible efforts to rescue Yuvraj Mehta. They also verbally gave me a script and recorded a video. As I was scared, I said ‘okay’ and agreed to follow the directions, but I decided that I am the only eyewitness in the case and I will stand with the truth,” Monider told Hindustan Times.

Friends allege delay

Mehta's friends have also alleged that the teams were unable to respond in a timely manner. “The rescue teams arrived only by 2.30 am and could not even enter the water till 3.20 am,” Mehta's friend Pankaj said, according to HT report.

Preliminary investigation held low visibility and speeding as possible causes of the accident, police said. “They had dug a large drain, around six to seven feet wide. Due to poor visibility and high speed, the driver appears to have lost control,” assistant commissioner of police Hemant Upadhyay said adding that although the boundary wall was damaged in parts, it was unclear how the car plunged into the basement and was fully submerged.

In the police complaint filed by Mehta's father, which was accessed by Hindustan Times, Mehta’s father alleged that residents of Sector 150 had requested the Noida authority to install barricading and reflectors near the drain, but no action was taken.

What does the autopsy report say?

The autopsy report, on January 19, stated that the victim suffered asphyxia due to ante-mortem drowning, followed by cardiac arrest, which lead to his death.

Yuvraj Mehta’s nose was blocked with mud and water, and there was water in his lungs and chest: these details are part of the autopsy report of the Noida-based software professional, The Indian Express has learnt.