After Yuvraj’s Death,
the Shameless Attempt to Blame the Victim Himself
Ranjan Srivastava

“Jai Hind, sir”—this is the voice heard while watching a video clip that someone made viral on social media after the death of 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj in Noida.

In this video clip, Yuvraj is seen in a pub. Through this clip, an attempt is made to suggest that Yuvraj had been at the same pub before his death and that, after drinking alcohol, he was driving under the influence and therefore met with an accident.

It is known that Yuvraj’s car fell into a pit at an under-construction mall, which was filled with water. Yuvraj even managed to get out of the car and informed his father about the accident, asking him to take immediate steps to save him.

To save his son’s life, the father immediately called the police control room. Teams from the police, the fire brigade, and the SDRF reached the spot. Yuvraj kept trying to show his presence by switching on the torch of his mobile phone.

Clearly, he kept shouting for help, but on that cold night, not a single uniformed personnel dared to enter the water, even though all of them are properly trained in how to rescue people in emergency situations. Gradually, the car kept sinking, and Yuvraj—who could not swim along with the car—also drowned, leading to his death. Outside the pit, dozens of uniformed personnel and other passers-by stood watching like spectators. A delivery boy gathered the courage to try to enter the water, but due to dense fog, he could not reach Yuvraj.

When serious questions were being raised about the system as a whole and about the competence of government agencies that run on taxpayers’ money, this video clip was made viral in which Yuvraj is seen with some of his friends in a pub.

The video clip contains CCTV footage showing Yuvraj’s presence in the pub before the accident. It appears that a policeman or a member of some security agency was recording the CCTV footage on his mobile phone on the instructions of a senior officer. And when that officer called, he must have addressed his senior as “Jai Hind, sir.” That is why the voice saying “Jai Hind, sir” is heard in the clip.

“Jai Hind, sir” is a form of address commonly used by policemen and personnel of some other uniformed departments responsible for public safety when receiving a phone call from a superior. However, since it has not yet been established who got the video made and who made it viral, it cannot be said with absolute certainty, without concrete evidence, that the CCTV footage was collected by a police officer and possibly also made viral by him. Still, the suspicion remains that the footage was collected from the bar by a policeman.

Whether it was a police officer or someone else who collected the CCTV footage from the bar and made it viral on social media, this attempt is an extreme act of shamelessness and a crime—trying to blame the deceased himself instead of raising questions about the government and the administration for such a major tragedy.

The truth is also that the post-mortem report did not find alcohol in Yuvraj’s stomach, as claimed in some media reports.

Even if it is assumed that Yuvraj had gone to a pub or bar before the accident, does that end the serious questions related to the failure of the government machinery? Does it end the question of who designed and approved a road that turns at a 90-degree angle at that spot?

When the pit was filled with a large amount of water, why were the builders constructing the mall not issued proper warnings to drain the water from the pit, and why was a strong wall not erected around it? Why were warning signboards, reflectors, and lights for drivers not installed there? Why was a heavy penalty not imposed on the builders for negligence at the site? Was there political pressure behind this, or administrative pressure?

A truck had also met with an accident at the same spot a few days earlier. Then why did the authorities—who were expected to ensure that such accidents would not occur in the future—remain asleep? Is the transfer and suspension of a few officers sufficient punishment for this incident? Why is this case not being treated as culpable homicide?

The personnel and officers who reached the spot in time but made no adequate effort to save Yuvraj’s life—do they have the right to continue in service? And should it not now come under the ambit of investigation as to who that person or officer is, or which group of persons and officers is behind this shameless attempt to shield the government and the administration from serious questions by blaming Yuvraj himself for his death?

However, it seems futile to hope that, amid the shameless attempts by the administrative machinery to save its own skin and by some people to blame Yuvraj for his own death, answers to the serious questions related to this incident will ever be forthcoming.

Ranjan Srivastava is a senior journalist. After serving as bureau chief and senior journalist with the English dailies Hindustan Times and Free Press, Bhopal, and other reputed newspapers, he is currently based in Bhopal and regularly writes independently on contemporary issues and politics.
Contact: 94253-51688
Email: ranjansrivastava1@gmail.com

Yuvraj’s Death