BHOPAL: A heavy truck ploughed into devotees at the Sheetla Mata Temple fair on Chinor Road in Gwalior around 1.30am on Sunday, killing at least 15 people and injuring 26 others, including two police personnel. Two Home Guard jawans posted at the entry point were among those killed. The death toll could rise, as several injured people remain in critical condition.The central question is how heavy trucks reached the shrine despite restrictions on all vehicles, including bicycles, on the route during the nine-day festival. Victims’ families and local residents questioned how the trucks passed barricades placed some distance from the temple. Authorities have yet to explain how the vehicles entered the restricted stretch.The accident occurred on Saptami of Sharadiya Navratri, when the shrine was crowded with devotees. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav removed the Jhansi Road city superintendent of police (CSP) and suspended eight other police personnel. The truck’s owner and driver were arrested in Dholpur.Collector Ruchika Chauhan confirmed the incident. Hospital authorities initially reported 13 deaths and said seven of the injured were in critical condition. The death toll later rose to 15. Officials said they were collecting details of patients admitted to other hospitals.How the truck reached the crowd remains disputedSome accounts suggest that two trucks were parked on the steep road and that one rolled downhill 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, unfamiliar with the route and relying on GPS-based navigation, were directed towards the temple road. According to reports, the trucks, which were heading to Punjab, approached the rear of the temple from the direction of Chinor at night.On reaching a downward slope, the drivers saw a crowd of around one lakh people below. The brakes of one truck reportedly failed, causing it to roll downhill and crush devotees walking along the roadside before crashing into the temple’s entrance gate.Part of the wall collapsed, trapping several people under the debris. An eyewitness said he and his companions were walking towards the temple when the truck appeared to lose its brakes and ploughed into the crowd.Local journalist Puneet Srivastava, who was at the spot during the rescue operation, said two trucks were involved. He added that the death toll could have been much 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. A relative of Sarla Tomar, who died while on her way to the temple, questioned who had allowed the trucks to enter from the rear.CSP removed, eight police personnel suspendedChief Minister Yadav removed Jhansi Road CSP Ravi Bhadauria for alleged negligence and suspended eight other police personnel, taking the total number of those facing action to nine.The suspended personnel 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.Yadav said the safety of devotees was paramount and that negligence in the line of duty would not be tolerated. He added that accountability would be fixed.Speaking to reporters at Indore airport, he said a detailed inquiry would be conducted and strict action taken against those found responsible.Truck owner and driver arrestedPolice arrested truck owner Mohit Singh and driver Dilbag Singh in Dholpur. The arrests were made by the Jhansi Road police station team.Police said the two men had jumped out of the truck and fled after the accident. They are being questioned.Anger and protestsResidents and devotees blocked the road, demanding strict action against reckless drivers and a complete ban on heavy vehicles in the area.Additional police personnel were brought in from other stations, and a large contingent remained deployed through the night.Tension 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 additional personnel.When Senior Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh arrived, relatives demanded answers about how the trucks had entered the restricted area and how the deaths had occurred.Mother alleges delay in treatmentA mother whose teenage son died in the accident alleged that he was still breathing after the crash and that she wanted to take him to a private hospital.She claimed that police insisted he be taken for a post-mortem examination, struck the ambulance with sticks and forced it to leave. She alleged that the delay contributed to her son’s death.Compensation and reactionsThe state government will provide Rs 4 lakh to the family of each person killed, Rs 2 lakh to each seriously injured person and Rs 50,000 to each of the other injured, Yadav said in a social media post. All the injured will receive free treatment.The affected families are from Gwalior, Shivpuri and Sheopur. Yadav asked ministers Edal Singh Kansana and Rakesh Shukla to reach Gwalior. He also prayed to Baba Mahakal for peace for the departed souls and a speedy recovery for the injured.President Droupadi Murmu said in a social media post that the loss of lives was distressing and conveyed her condolences to the bereaved families.Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia described the accident as extremely painful and said his heart was deeply troubled.Rescue and relief operationsLocal residents, devotees and police personnel pulled victims from the wreckage. Many had suffered head injuries and fractures.SSP Dharmveer Singh and Additional Superintendent of Police Shivesh Baghel reached the spot with personnel from several city police stations and senior administrative officials.One young woman, Kalpana Parihar, was trapped beneath a truck’s wheel. She had gone to the temple with her relative 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 at Jaya Arogya Hospital in a goods vehicle rather than wait for ambulances. Ambulances continued to transport the dead and injured until around 4am.The injured were taken to the Gwalior Trauma Centre and the 1,000-bed hospital, where the collector and senior police officers reviewed treatment arrangements.A crane was used to lift the overturned truck and reach people trapped beneath it. The first hydra machine to arrive developed a technical fault, prompting a request for a second machine from the agency constructing an elevated road nearby. A report filed during the rescue operation said the second machine had yet to arrive.The deadThe deceased 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 victim. 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.Families search for missing relativesFamilies scrambled to find relatives who had accompanied them to the temple.A relative of Divyansh Kushwah said the group had left after offering prayers but could not find him. They searched for him, informed the police and eventually found him after returning inside.The brother-in-law of a shopkeeper near the temple said the injured man could not recall how the accident had 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 about the accident around 5am and found him in critical condition at the hospital.Fair draws large crowds on SaptamiThe ancient Sheetla Mata Temple in Sataun village on Chinor Road attracts large crowds during the nine-day Sharadiya Navratri festival, particularly on Saptami.Villagers believe that visiting the shrine on this day brings blessings for children and relief from illness. Women visit with puja thalis, coconuts and basoda prasad, while devotees from Gwalior city, Dabra, Chinor, Bhitarwar and surrounding villages gather at the fair.
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