Gwalior: At least 15 people lost their lives and 33 others sustained injuries after an overloaded truck carrying paddy broke through police barricades and ploughed into a crowd of devotees heading toward the Sheetla Mata temple in Madhya Pradesh. Police suspect the driver may have relied on Google Maps to find a shortcut, inadvertently directing the heavy vehicle onto a restricted steep slope.
Gwalior CSP Ravi Bhadoria stated that the truck originated from Debra Mandi and that both the driver and the owner have been detained. The vehicle was travelling along Chhinor road, an area featuring a steep slope where heavy traffic is strictly prohibited. Because the driver was an outsider, authorities believe he consulted navigation software for a faster path before experiencing brake failure near the temple.
Senior police official Dharmveer Singh explained that the tragedy unfolded around 1.30 am as large numbers of pilgrims walked toward the temple. The truck, which had been stationary on the road, suddenly broke past police checkpoints, lost control while descending, and crashed into the outer wall and gate of the shrine, crushing pedestrians. Two police officers stationed at the location were also hurt.
All injured individuals were promptly transported for medical care. Gwalior Collector Ruchika Chauhan noted that ambulances and administrative vehicles were dispatched immediately after emergency reports arrived around 1.30 am. Five or six of the 33 injured victims are in critical condition with fractures, while others are being treated for minor wounds.
A Regional Transport Office team has been deployed to conduct a mechanical inspection of the vehicle to identify any technical failures, while authorities continue to examine how the truck bypassed security arrangements set up for the festival season. Tensions later arose at the local post-mortem facility as grieving relatives protested alleged administrative negligence, prompting a heavy police deployment to maintain order.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, offering two lakh rupees to the families of each deceased victim and fifty thousand rupees to those injured.