Truck smashes through barricades at Gwalior’s Sheetla Mata temple, killing at least 15 devotees

At least 15 people were killed and more than 25 injured when a truck loaded with paddy ran into Navratri devotees gathered outside the Sheetla Mata temple near Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh at around 1.30 am on Sunday, 18 October. Several of the dead were teenagers. Two police personnel are among the injured.

According to officials, the vehicle, which carried a Punjab registration, crossed police barricades and entered Chinar Road, a stretch designated a no-entry zone for heavy vehicles. It struck worshippers waiting near the shrine and a row of roadside stalls before hitting the temple’s entrance gate. The impact brought down part of the temple wall, leaving some people trapped beneath the debris.

Cause under investigation

Officials said a mechanical fault, possibly a failure of the brakes, is being examined, but no cause has been confirmed. Transport department officials have been asked to inspect the truck.

The driver left the spot after the crash, police said on the morning of 18 October. Police later said both the driver and the owner of the truck had been taken into custody. Which of the two men was at the wheel is still being established.

Police officers face action

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav ordered an inquiry and directed the district administration to submit a fact-based report. He removed the City Superintendent of Police responsible for the area and suspended eight other police personnel, among them station house officers, a traffic inspector, a head constable and constables, for alleged negligence. “The safety of all citizens is paramount,” the chief minister said in a post on X.

The state government will pay Rs 4 lakh to the family of each person who died, Rs 2 lakh to each seriously injured person and Rs 50,000 to others who were hurt. It will also bear the cost of treatment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh from the PM’s National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each victim and Rs 50,000 for each injured person.

Festival crowds and heavy traffic

The crash came in the final days of Navratri, when temples across north and central India draw crowds late into the night. Vijayadashami falls on Tuesday, 20 October, and the week sees heavy movement of both pilgrims and goods vehicles on highways and district roads.

The suspension of officers from the local police stations and the traffic wing indicates that the state government is looking at how a loaded lorry was able to get past barricades meant to keep heavy vehicles away from the shrine. The findings of the inquiry into the Gwalior temple tragedy and the technical inspection of the truck are expected to settle what went wrong.

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