The truck ploughed into people near the shrine, killing at least 15 and injuring 26 others, including two police personnel.
BHOPAL: A heavy truck ploughed into devotees at the Sheetla Mata Temple fair on Chinor Road in Gwalior around 1.30 am on Sunday, killing at least 16 people and injuring 26 others, including two police personnel.Two Home Guard jawans posted at the entry point were among those killed. The toll could rise.Questions are being asked about how two heavy trucks reached the shrine on a route closed to all vehicles, including cycles, during the nine-day festival.Families of the victims and residents asked how the trucks got past barricades placed at a safe distance from the temple. There was no official explanation.The accident occurred on Saptami of Sharadiya Navratri, when the shrine was packed with devotees. Collector Ruchika Chauhan confirmed the incident.Hospital authorities first confirmed 13 deaths and said seven of the injured were critical. Later they put the toll at 16. Officials said they were collecting details of patients admitted to other hospitals.Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was distressed by the loss of lives, conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.An ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) will be given to the next of kin of each person killed, and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured, he said.Chief minister Dr Mohan Yadav removed the Jhansi Road city superintendent of police (CSP) and suspended eight other police personnel. He said a detailed inquiry would be held and strict action taken against those found responsible.
How the truck reached the crowd is disputed
The temple is in Sataun village, about 18 km from the Gwalior district headquarters. Devotees at the fair had come from Gwalior city, Dabra, Chinor, Bhitarwar and surrounding villages.On the approach to the shrine, the road runs down a steep slope towards the temple’s entrance gate.Some accounts say two trucks were parked on the steep road and one rolled down after its brakes failed. Others say one of the trucks broke through the barricades and entered the restricted stretch.Officials said the drivers of two overloaded trucks, relying on GPS-based navigation on unfamiliar routes, were directed to the road leading to the temple.According to reports, the trucks, headed for Punjab, came from the direction of Chinor at night and approached the rear of the temple. On reaching the slope, the drivers saw a crowd of about 100,000 people below.The brakes of one truck then failed, and it rolled down, crushing devotees walking along the roadside before slamming into the temple’s entrance gate. A section of the wall collapsed, trapping several people under the debris.One of the eyewitnesses said he and his companions were walking towards the temple when the truck’s brakes appeared to fail and it fell on the crowd.Local journalist Puneet Srivastava, who was at the spot during the rescue, said the toll could have been far higher had the temple’s 200-year-old wall not stopped the truck. Several relatives said the lane was so narrow that even a bicycle could barely pass.
CSP removed, eight suspended
Jhansi Road CSP Ravi Bhadauria was removed for negligence.The eight suspended are Jhansi Road SHO Shakti Singh Yadav, Antri SHO Gitesh Sharma, Jhansi Road traffic SHO Abhishek Raghuvanshi, traffic inspector Raghavendra Jadon, head constable Sushil Dwivedi, and constables Kishan Khanna, Anil Jaitpuria and Pawan Sengar.Speaking to reporters at Indore airport, CM Yadav said the safety of devotees was paramount, negligence in the line of duty would not be tolerated, and accountability would be fixed.
Owner, driver arrested
The Jhansi Road police station took truck owner Mohit alias Harpreet Singh, from Ludhiana in Punjab, and driver Dilbag Singh, a resident of Punjabi Colony in Delhi, into custody in Dholpur, across the border in Rajasthan, a police officer said.According to preliminary information, the trucks were loaded with paddy from a market in Dabra. Both were from outside the state and were travelling together. The police said the men had jumped out of the truck and fled after the accident. They are being questioned.
Anger and protests
Residents and devotees blocked the road, demanding strict action against reckless drivers and a complete ban on heavy vehicles. Additional police were rushed in from other stations, and a heavy force remained deployed through the night.Tempers also flared outside the post-mortem facility, where relatives had gathered to identify the dead. Some raised slogans against the police administration, prompting the deployment of a large contingent.When senior superintendent of police (SSP) Dharmveer Singh arrived, relatives demanded answers. The father of Divyansh Kushwah, who was killed in the accident, accused the administration of negligence.He asked how the police could have let a heavy vehicle in when even two-wheelers were not being allowed through. Breaking down, he demanded that the government take strict action against the senior police officers responsible.
Mother alleges delay in treatment
A mother whose teenage son died alleged that he was still breathing after the crash and that she wanted to take him to a private hospital.She said police insisted he be sent for post-mortem and struck the ambulance with sticks before forcing it to leave, and that the delay contributed to his death.
Aid and reactions
The state government will pay Rs 4 lakh to the kin of each person killed, Rs 2 lakh to each seriously injured person and Rs 50,000 to each of the other injured, Yadav said on social media.All the injured will receive free treatment. The affected families are from Gwalior, Shivpuri and Sheopur. He asked ministers Edal Singh Kansana and Rakesh Shukla to reach Gwalior and prayed to Baba Mahakal to grant peace to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured.President Droupadi Murmu, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also expressed grief.Murmu said in a social media post that the loss of lives was distressing and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Scindia called the accident extremely painful.Gandhi, in a post on X, said he stood with the bereaved families in their hour of sorrow, and called the news of the devotees’ deaths in the accident caused by an out-of-control truck “extremely heartbreaking”.
Rescue and relief
Local residents, devotees and police personnel pulled out the victims, many of whom had head injuries and fractures.SSP Singh and additional superintendent of police Shivesh Baghel reached the spot with police from several city stations and senior administrative officials.One young woman, Kalpana Parihar, was trapped beneath the wheel of a truck. She had gone to the temple with kin Gaurav Parihar, who was among those killed.Police freed her by letting the air out of the tyre. She suffered severe injuries to the lower part of her body and is in the intensive care unit of the trauma centre.Seriously injured victims were rushed to the trauma centre of Jaya Arogya Hospital in a loading vehicle rather than wait for an ambulance, and ambulances ferried the dead and injured until about 4 am.The Collector and senior police officers later reviewed treatment arrangements at the Gwalior Trauma Centre and the 1,000-bed hospital.A crane was used to lift the overturned truck and reach those trapped beneath it.The first hydra machine to arrive developed a technical fault, and a second was requested from the agency building an elevated road nearby. A report filed during the operation said it had not yet arrived.The brother-in-law of a shopkeeper near the temple said the injured man could not recall how the accident happened and remembered only smoke and confusion.Another injured devotee, who suffered fractures in both legs, was put on a ventilator, a relative said. His family learnt of the accident around 5 am and found him critical at the hospital.
The dead
The dead were identified as Satendra Singh Gurjar (22), Sarla Tomar (50), Gaurav Parihar (18), Mahesh Sharma (45), Vimlesh Badhel (18), Devesh Badhel (17), Prince alias Chhotu Jatav (16), Shaurya Sharma (15), Hemant Rathore (age not recorded), Divyansh Kushwah (17), Pawan Rathore (23), Lav Tyagi (15), Aman Tyagi (13), Ashok Tyagi (45) and Nitesh alias Ritesh (18). Aman Tyagi, 13, was the youngest.Among those whose ages were recorded, Sarla Tomar, 50, was the oldest. Pawan Rathore, a resident of Gadaipur in Hazira, had gone to the temple to pray when he was killed.
Fair on Saptami
The ancient Sheetla Mata Temple stands in Sataun village on Chinor Road, about 18 km from the Gwalior district headquarters.It draws its biggest crowds during the nine-day Sharadiya Navratri festival, when a fair is held, and the seventh day, Saptami, holds special significance. Villagers believe a visit on this day brings the blessing of children and relief from illness.Women arrive with puja thalis, coconuts and basoda prasad, and devotees come from Gwalior city, Dabra, Chinor, Bhitarwar and surrounding villages.Devotees also offer bells at the shrine and keep stones there, customs that many follow in fulfilment of their wishes.