Twelve pilgrims are dead. The bodies were found crushed under the weight of a paddy-laden truck that plowed through a police barrier and into the outer wall of the Sheetla Mata Temple in Gwalior. The crash happened at 1:30 AM on Saturday, turning a quiet devotional night into a scene of chaos and blood.
Gwalior Senior Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh confirmed the toll. He said the truck, traveling from the Chhinor direction, lost control on a steep slope where heavy vehicles are strictly banned. It didn't just break the barricade; it smashed through it, running over people on the road before slamming into the temple's gate. Singh noted that two police personnel on duty at the spot were also injured and are undergoing treatment.
The medical response was immediate but the damage was severe. Gwalior Collector Ruchika Chauhan reported that 39 people were rushed to the hospital. Of those, 12 died. Five or six others are critically injured with fractures, while the remaining 22 sustained minor injuries. Chauhan emphasized that CT scans and X-rays are being conducted continuously to monitor the condition of the critically ill.
How did a heavy vehicle get past a checkpoint? That is the question now driving the investigation. Chauhan stated that an RTO team has been dispatched to inspect the truck mechanically. They need to determine what caused it to veer left and how it breached the stopper and police checkpoint set up during Navratri. An eyewitness, whose brother was injured, claimed the truck was overloaded. He described seeing people die on the spot as the vehicle ran over shops and devotees. The scene, he said, remains chaotic.