Noida techie death: Developer arrested; SIT begins probe, report due in five days
Noida (PTI): Police on Tuesday arrested the director of a real estate firm 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, even as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) visited the site as it began its probe into the incident, officials said.
"Abhay Kumar, the 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.
Police had filed an FIR on culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other charges against two real estate developers -- MZ Wiztown Planners and Lotus Greens -- on a complaint by victim Yuvraj Mehta's father, Raj Kumar Mehta, who alleged negligence by local authorities and sought accountability.
There was no official word on the action against the other accused firm.
Yuvraj Mehta died on the intervening night of Friday and 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. According to eyewitnesses, he had frantically pleaded for help for around 90 minutes, but the police personnel and rescue workers who had reached the site were unable to save him.
His body was recovered on Saturday after a prolonged search operation involving the fire department, police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
His car was retrieved from the pit on Tuesday evening, three days after the accident. Gautam Buddh Nagar Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar told PTI that the operation was challenging due to thick slush and the presence of iron reinforcements in the pit.
Nearly two dozen personnel, including divers, participated in the operation during which boats, cranes and large magnets were used.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay said the car was retrieved from the pit at around 6.30 pm following a coordinated operation involving multiple agencies.
Beginning its probe, the Special Investigation Team, headed by Additional Director General (ADG), Meerut Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar, visited the accident site on Tuesday and held meetings with officials at the Noida Authority to examine the circumstances leading to the incident.
The three-member SIT comprises ADG Bhanu Bhaskar, Meerut Divisional Commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami and Public Works Department Chief Engineer Ajay Verma, and it has been asked to submit its report within five days.
"We have been given five days to examine all aspects and provide an answer within that time frame, determining whose fault it was or what more we could have done to prevent this accident," Bhaskar told reporters after the meeting.
"We need to examine the civic authority, police and emergency authority and will give our opinion within five days. After follow-up meetings, we will submit our opinion to the government," he added, noting that the SIT would also speak to the victim's father.
Noida District Magistrate Medha Roopam, who accompanied the SIT, evaded mediapersons as they attempted to ask her questions.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had on Monday evening ordered the constitution of the SIT, amid public outrage and allegations of negligence by officials and developers.
The government also removed senior IAS officer Lokesh M as the CEO of Noida Authority, placing him on the "waitlist".
The FIR was 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, police said.
Investigations are continuing, they added.
The incident has sparked allegations of negligence, inadequate safety arrangements and delays in rescue efforts.
"If expert divers could have gone in, then maybe my son would have been saved. Yuvraj kept crying for help as the car drowned," the victim's father had told reporters.
On Tuesday, the techie's father said the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has given him hope of justice.
He said he was confident that the probe would bring accountability and that his son's soul would "receive justice", according to a statement issued by the state government in Lucknow following the SIT's visit.
He said necessary safety measures had now been put in place at the accident site to prevent recurrence of such incidents. He also expressed a desire to meet CM Yogi Adityanath, according to the statement.
It added that the government had assured him of full cooperation in the matter.
Raising the issue of the techie's death, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said India's urban collapse is not about lack of money, technology, or solutions but about the lack of accountability.
In a post on X, Gandhi said, "Roads kill, bridges kill, fires kill, water kills, pollution kills, corruption kills, indifference kills."
"India's urban collapse isn't about lack of money, technology, or solutions. It's about lack of accountability.TINA m: There Is No Accountability," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said.
Gandhi shared a video carrying the remarks of an eyewitness, who said timely action could have saved the man, and that of the victim's father, who lamented that there were several people there, with some of them making videos, but they did not act to save his son.
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Six-year-old survives Spain train disaster that killed her family as death toll climbs
Madrid: Spain is in mourning after a devastating train accident in the country’s south left at least 42 people dead, including an entire family, with one six-year-old girl emerging as the sole survivor from among her closest relatives.
The crash occurred when two trains collided after one of them derailed for reasons that are still under investigation, as reported by Associated Press News. The impact tore through the front carriages, which suffered the heaviest damage, leaving mangled metal, scattered debris and dozens of casualties along a steep slope beside the tracks.
Amid the wreckage, Civil Guard personnel discovered the young girl barefoot on the railway line after she managed to escape through a shattered window, according to reports by Spanish daily La Vanguardia. Despite the severity of the accident, she sustained only minor injuries and received three stitches to her head at a hospital. Doctors later confirmed that she was in stable condition.
The child lost her parents, her brother and a cousin in the crash, authorities said, leaving her orphaned. The victims belonged to the Zamorano Álvarez family from Punta Umbria, a town that has since declared three days of mourning. Local officials said the family had been seated in the front section of the train, which absorbed the force of the collision.
On Tuesday, Punta Umbria observed a minute of silence in memory of those who died. According to an AP report, Mayor José Carlos Hernández said the survival of the girl offered a small measure of comfort amid widespread grief. “Many people are deeply saddened by this terrible accident, but there is also solace in knowing that some survived, like the miracle of this girl who is safe,” he said.
The mayor added that the child is now staying with her grandparents at a hotel in Córdoba, the nearest major city to the crash site. “She has a strong family around her, who will do everything possible to ensure she has a good life,” he said.
