Google Maps route likely led truck to Gwalior temple: Police

The truck ploughed into people near the shrine, killing at least 15 and injuring 26 others, including two police personnel.

GWALIOR: The truck that ploughed into devotees at the Sheetla Mata Temple fair in Gwalior, killing at least 15 people and injuring 26, may have taken a shorter route suggested by Google Maps before its brakes failed, CSP Ravi Bhadoria told news agency ANI. The truck driver and owner have been taken into custody, he added. According to Bhadoria, the truck was carrying paddy from Debra Mandi. Since the drivers were unfamiliar with the area, they may have checked the location on Google Maps and taken a shorter route that led them towards the temple. “The brakes failed before the temple and this accident occurred,” Bhadoria said, adding that heavy vehicles had not previously used the route.

Probe ordered into how truck reached restricted stretch

Bhadoria said parking arrangements, checkpoints and barricades were in place along the route, which was not meant for heavy vehicles. Senior officials have ordered an investigation into how the truck reached the stretch despite these measures. The accident took place around 1.30am on Sunday, when a large number of devotees had gathered at the temple for the Sharadiya Navratri fair. The truck ploughed into people near the shrine, killing at least 15 and injuring 26 others, including two police personnel. Two Home Guard jawans posted at the entry point were among those killed. The circumstances leading to the crash remain under investigation. While some accounts suggest the truck rolled down a slope after its brakes failed, questions have also been raised over how heavy vehicles entered a route closed to traffic during the festival.

CSP removed, eight police personnel suspended

Following the accident, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav removed Jhansi Road CSP Ravi Bhadoria and suspended eight other police personnel over alleged negligence. The truck's owner, Mohit Singh, and driver, Dilbag Singh, were arrested in Dholpur, police said. They are being questioned in connection with the incident. The state government has announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh for the families of those killed, Rs 2 lakh for each seriously injured person and Rs 50,000 for other injured people. The injured will receive free treatment, the chief minister said.