GWALIOR, Madhya Pradesh — At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured early Sunday when a runaway truck broke through a police barricade and ploughed into devotees gathered outside a temple in this central Indian city, before crashing into the temple’s entrance gate, police said.
The truck, laden with paddy and travelling from the Chhinor side, had been stopped at a checkpoint on a steep slope leading to the Sheetla Mata Temple at about 1:30 a.m., when heavy vehicles are barred from the route. Police said the vehicle suddenly lost control — a preliminary investigation points to mechanical failure — rolled down the slope, and crushed devotees and roadside stalls along the road before striking the temple’s outer wall and gate. Part of the gateway wall collapsed in the impact, trapping people under the debris.
The dead were devotees who had travelled to the temple for Saptami, the seventh day of the Navratri festival, when the shrine draws very large crowds. Police said about 41 people were hit in all. Five to six of the injured were reported to be in critical condition, and two police personnel on duty at the checkpoint were also hurt.
The death toll rose through Sunday as officials reconciled counts from hospitals across the district; early official figures put the dead at 12 before the number was revised upward. All of those killed were from Gwalior and neighbouring districts, police said.
Gwalior’s district collector, Ruchika Chauhan, said ambulances and rescue teams were dispatched immediately and that an investigation would establish how the truck came to enter a stretch from which heavy vehicles were restricted for the festival. Police said the truck’s owner, Mohit Singh, and its driver, Dilbag Singh, had been arrested.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the deaths and announced compensation of 200,000 rupees (about $2,250) from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for the family of each person killed, and 50,000 rupees for each of the injured. “Distressed to learn about the loss of lives due to a mishap in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh,” Modi said in a post on X. “My condolences to the bereaved families.”
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, also expressed condolences, calling the accident “extremely heartbreaking” and saying he stood with the grieving families.
The crash has raised questions about festival crowd-safety arrangements in the district, including how a heavy truck reached a barricaded slope above a pedestrian route used by thousands of pilgrims. District officials said the inquiry would examine both the vehicle’s condition and the decisions that allowed it onto the restricted road.
Reporting based on accounts from Gwalior police and district officials carried by the Press Trust of India, Hindustan Times and ANI.
