Delivery Executive Haunted by Noida Ditch Tragedy After Failed Rescue Attempt
Moninder, a Flipkart delivery executive, cannot forget the cold, foggy night when he jumped into a water-filled ditch in Noida's Sector 150. He tried desperately to save 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, who drowned after his car plunged into the deep excavation. Now, Moninder returns to the spot multiple times, staring at the sixteen iron barricades authorities installed after the incident.
"Why weren't these barricades put up fifteen years ago?" Moninder asks bitterly. "Why do such facilities only appear after someone dies?" His house sits just fifteen minutes from the accident site. Though unrelated to the victim, the memory of that night grips him tightly.
A Plea for Help Ignored by Officials
According to Moninder, Yuvraj Mehta kept pleading for help from the water. Officials reached the location, but nobody jumped in to rescue him. "The man was flashing his phone torch from the water," Moninder recalls. "He decided to lie down on the car's roof, trying hard to keep it afloat as he continuously shouted for help."
The fire brigade team arrived with a ladder and safety jackets. Yet, they remained on the sidelines. "They told me to go into the water, and I did," Moninder states. "But they had arrived before me. Why didn't they jump?" He believes the administration's negligence caused the young man's death. "He drowned in front of the officials. If they wanted to save him, they could have."
The Perilous Rescue Attempt
When Moninder finally jumped into the ditch, others warned him about the dangers. The excavation was actually a basement filled with protruding iron rods and freezing cold water. He searched for thirty to forty minutes in the dead of night but could not find Yuvraj.
Later, the autopsy revealed the engineer had mud clogging his nose and water in his chest, confirming death by drowning. Police received the alert at 12:06 AM, but Yuvraj drowned around 2:30 AM. Rescuers only reached the scene around 4 AM.
Previous Accident at the Same Spot
This was not the first accident at that location. Moninder helped a truck driver who fell into the same ditch about two weeks earlier. "That was also a foggy night," he remembers. "The driver was new here. Because of low visibility, I was trailing his truck to find my way while riding my bike for a delivery."
Suddenly, a blast-like sound echoed. An iron rod pierced a tyre, and the truck tumbled into the ditch. Gurinder, the driver from Punjab's Ludhiana, recounts his ordeal. "There are no reflectors in the area, so an accident is waiting to happen here," he says.
After the truck fell, Gurinder thought solid ground lay below. He stepped out and fell straight into the water. Moninder quickly untied a rope from the truck. He tied it to a bar attached to the boundary wall and pulled Gurinder out.
Authorities Blame the Victim
When they asked the Noida Authority for help rescuing the truck, officials accused Gurinder of breaking a portion of the boundary wall. The truck remained stuck for two days. "There were bushes inside the ditch," Moninder notes. "That's why the driver survived. Didn't the administration know this had happened? This time, they woke up because a man died."
Residents and the victim's family allege the area lacked proper turns, barricades, or reflectors. Yuvraj Mehta lived in the Tata Eureka Park residential society. He was returning from his office in Gurgaon around midnight when the accident occurred. The ditch was dug for a commercial mall project.
A Family's Grief and a Witness's Resolve
Moninder continues to speak out as an eyewitness who refuses to let the questions fade. "Why shouldn't I tell the truth?" he declares. "If they want, they can send me to jail. But I will tell the truth—to the District Magistrate, to the SDM, to anyone who will listen."
He mentions the profound loss. "A father has lost everything. He is over sixty-five. The boy was supposed to get married in two to four months—that's what people here say."
His family stands firmly beside him. His mother recalls how he returned from the bushes and warmed himself near a fire. "He was very shaken," she says. "Later he told me everything—that he had gone into the water and somehow came back unharmed."
His brother, Somindra Singh, expresses the family's fears about pressure. "Moninder risked his life," he states. "He couldn't see a helpless father breaking down for his son."
Officials from the Noida Authority could not be reached for comment about this incident. The delivery executive's account highlights ongoing safety concerns in the area, questioning why preventive measures only follow tragedy.
