Techie Death Case: IAS Krishna Karunesh Appointed As New Noida Authority CEO

Noida, Uttar Pradesh: IAS officer Krishna Karunesh, who was previously serving as District Magistrate of Gorakhpur, on Saturday was appointed as the in-charge CEO of Noida Authority.

This comes after M Lokesh, the previous chief executive officer (CEO) of Noida and Managing Director of Noida Metro Rail Corporation (NMRC), was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government on January 19 following the death of a 27-year-old techie.

The accident, which occurred on the night of January 16-17 under the jurisdiction of Knowledge Park Police Station, involved a car plunging into a drain at the Sector 150 intersection, resulting in the death of 27-year-old Yuvraj Mehta.

The post-mortem report revealed the cause of death as "asphyxia due to antemortem drowning followed by cardiac arrest."

Following the incident, CM Yogi Adityanath formed a Special Investigation Team under the leadership of the Additional Director General (ADG) of the Meerut Zone, which comprises the Divisional Commissioner, Meerut, and the Chief Engineer, PWD. According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), it has been tasked to submit its report to the CM within five days.

The victim's family has alleged gross administrative negligence, claiming that timely intervention could have saved Yuvraj's life as he struggled in the water for nearly two hours.

Speaking to ANI, Rajkumar Mehta, the victim's father, said, "My son was struggling to save himself. My son was crying out for help, asking people to help him, but most of the crowd was just watching. Some people were making videos."

He further alleged, "My son struggled for two hours to save his life. The officials and staff present were unable to save him. They did not have any divers. There is negligence on the part of the administration in this entire matter."

Police said Yuvraj's body, a resident of Sector-150, Noida, Gautam Buddh Nagar, was recovered after a search operation by SDRF and NDRF teams and sent for post-mortem examination. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.