Noida techie death: Developer accused of negligence arrested
Noida (PTI): Police on Tuesday arrested the director of a real estate group in connection with the death of a 27-year-old software engineer, whose car had plunged into a water-filled pit at a construction site in Noida's Sector 150, officials said.
"Abhay Kumar, director of MZ Wiztown Planners and one of the accused in the case, has been arrested from Sector 150," Additional Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay said.
Yuvraj Mehta was killed in the early hours of Saturday after his car skidded in dense fog, broke a drain boundary and fell into a deep, waterlogged pit, dug for the basement of an under-construction commercial complex near a drain.
The police had filed an FIR against two real estate developers -- MZ Wiztown Planners and Lotus Greens -- on a complaint by the victim's father, Raj Kumar Mehta, who alleged negligence by local authorities and sought accountability.
While Kumar of Wiztown Planners has been arrested, there was no official update as of Tuesday afternoon from the police on action against the other accused firm.
The arrest came on a day a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by the Additional Director General (ADG), Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar visited the accident site to examine the circumstances leading to the incident.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Monday evening ordered the constitution of the three-member SIT to probe the case, amid public outrage and allegations of negligence by officials and developers.
The state government also removed senior IAS officer Lokesh M as the Noida Authority CEO on Monday, putting him on "waitlist".
The FIR has been lodged under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 106 (causing death by negligence) and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the police said.
Investigations are continuing, the police added.
The incident has sparked allegations of negligence, inadequate safety arrangements and delays in rescue efforts, with the victim's father saying he had reached the spot along with police and other rescue personnel were also there but could not save him.
"If expert divers could have gone in, then maybe my son would have been saved. Yuvraj kept crying for help as the car drowned," he told reporters.
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Vijay unable to prove majority, not invited for CM oath ceremony: Sources
Chennai: Actor-politician Vijay has reportedly not been invited to take oath as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu after failing to demonstrate support from the required number of MLAs, sources in Raj Bhavan said.
According to media reports that quoted sources in the office of R.N. Ravi Arlekar, Vijay could not prove the backing of 118 legislators, the majority mark in the 234-member Tamil Nadu Assembly.
Despite last-minute efforts to secure support from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK), and an IUML legislator, Vijay reportedly managed support from only 116 MLAs, falling short by two members.
Sources said Vijay failed to submit letters of support from the VCK and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Later, the IUML issued a statement clarifying that it was not part of the TVK-led alliance.
Meanwhile, AMMK leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran is also said to have informed the Governor that his party would support the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) instead.
Earlier in the evening, Vijay had met Governor Arlekar and staked claim to form the government, stating that he enjoyed the support of 118 MLAs.
