In a significant development in the tragic death of software engineer Yuvraj Mehta, the Noida police have arrested two directors of real estate firm Lotus Green on Thursday. This brings the total number of realtors taken into custody to three in connection with the January 16 incident where Mehta lost his life in a waterlogged trench at a construction site in Sector 150.
Details of the Arrests and Judicial Custody
The arrested individuals, identified as Ravi Bansal and Sachin Karnwal, have been sent to five-day judicial custody. According to police sources, their arrests followed intensive intelligence gathering about their movements and electronic surveillance. Bansal is based in Faridabad, while Karnwal resides in Shalimar Garden Extension 2, Ghaziabad.
Lotus Green is the lead developer of the stalled Sports City project, to which the land in question is allotted. The FIR reveals that Bansal and Karnwal are also stakeholders in Wiztown Planners, a company to which Lotus Green had allegedly sold this plot back in 2020. Interestingly, the FIR states that Lotus Green continues to hold stakes in the plot despite the sale.
Charges and Investigation Findings
The same serious charges have been invoked against Bansal and Karnwal that were earlier filed against Wiztown director Abhay Kumar, who was the first to be arrested after police registered an FIR on Sunday. The charges include sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 106-1 (causing death by negligence), and 125 (rashness or negligence endangering life) of the BNS.
Police sources indicated that the investigation has revealed serious lapses at the construction site that proved fatal for Mehta. "The area was left unsecured, without proper barricading or warning signage, resulting in the vehicle entering the waterlogged plot," a police source revealed.
Based on evidence collected during the probe, Bansal and Karnwal were found to be directly involved in the management and supervision of the site, making them accountable for negligence. The investigation suggests that their oversight contributed to the dangerous conditions that led to the tragic incident.
Additional Legal Developments
In a related development, Kumar was named in a second FIR filed on Wednesday under sections of the environment protection and water pollution acts. Police have taken decisive action by sealing Kumar's office located in Sector 62 and the corporate office of the company in Sector 126.
The second FIR also names Sanjay Kumar, Manish Kumar, Achal Bohra, and Nirmal Kumar (all associated with Lotus Green) as other stakeholders in the plot, expanding the scope of the investigation into multiple parties potentially responsible for the site conditions.
Separate Court Ruling in Delhi
In an unrelated but notable legal development, a Delhi court has acquitted former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping multiple Enforcement Directorate summonses asking him to join its probe in the excise policy case. The court ruled that summons issued by email were neither valid nor legal, and the agency failed to prove Kejriwal intentionally disobeyed the summonses. The court added that as a sitting Chief Minister, Kejriwal too enjoyed a right of movement, establishing an important precedent in how digital communications are treated in legal proceedings.
The Noida police continue their investigation into the tragic death of Yuvraj Mehta, with all three arrested individuals now in judicial custody as authorities work to establish full accountability for the negligence that led to this preventable loss of life.
