Kamal Ghorui
NOIDA: UP govt on Monday removed Lokesh M as CEO of Noida Authority and formed an SIT to inquire into the death of software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, who drowned Friday night after his car plunged into a waterlogged trench at a commercial site in Sector 150. The action followed CM Yogi Adityanath taking “serious cognisance” of the incident, reports Aditya Dev.The road Mehta took has a sharp right-angle turn that becomes hazardous in fog without warning signs or lights. It has neither. Also, rescue was critically delayed.
Mehta’s father has accused police and other agencies of delay in saving him. Even though the techie was alive and shouting for help by the time policemen reached the spot, they did not know how to swim. A senior police officer told TOI knowing how to swim is not a mandatory requirement for a cop. Mehta, who couldn’t swim and managed to stay afloat by clinging to the car, went down crying for help.The SIT will be headed by additional director general (ADG) Meerut Zone Bhanu Bhaskar and will have divisional commissioner Bhanu Chandra Goswami and the chief engineer of the PWD as its two other members. It has been directed to submit its report to the CM within five days.Lokesh M, who headed Noida Metro Rail Corporation as well, has been put on compulsory waiting. As CEO, Lokesh was responsible for the authority’s daily administration, civic planning, and enforcement functions. A 2005-batch IAS officer of the UP cadre, he took charge as CEO in July 2023.An FIR was lodged on Sunday against two real estate developers who won the project site where the trench is dug – Wishtown Planners and Lotus Greens – for alleged negligence, including absence of barricades, reflectors and other safety measures. Earlier, Noida Authority suspended junior engineer Naveen Kumar, who was responsible for traffic-related work in the area, and issued notices to other officials linked to the site.Locals protested at the accident site, alleging Noida Authority’s negligence. They said several accidents had occurred at the same spot earlier and that repeated requests for barricades and reflectors were ignored. After the protest, the Noida Authority dumped hundreds of tonnes of debris near the site.
