Gwalior: CM Announces ₹4 Lakh Aid After Truck Ploughs Into Crowd Near Sheetla Mata Temple

A truck rammed into shops and devotees near the Sheetla Mata Temple in Gwalior during Navratri, causing a large number of deaths and injuries. The vehicle was reportedly carrying sacks of paddy. Gwalior Collector Ruchika Chauhan confirmed that the toll had risen to 14, while a post by the news agency IANS cited 15 dead and about 27 injured, including two police personnel, so figures differed between sources.

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav announced ₹4 lakh for the family of each person who died, ₹2 lakh for each seriously injured person and ₹50,000 for others hurt. He said all the injured would receive free treatment. He asked ministers Aidal Singh Kansana and Rakesh Shukla to go to Gwalior and oversee relief.

Tension was reported at the postmortem centre, where Superintendent of Police Dharmveer Singh arrived. Relatives alleged that police reached late, that victims were slow to be taken to hospital and that families were stopped from searching for missing members. The victims came from Gwalior, Shivpuri and Sheopur.

Ambulances and other vehicles were sent to the site. An investigation is under way into how the truck got past barricades and a police checkpoint that had been set up for the Navratri crowd. Later reports said the Chief Minister suspended eight police personnel for negligence and that a probe was ordered into the truck crossing a restricted road.

Navratri brings large crowds to temples across Madhya Pradesh, and the accident has raised questions about crowd and traffic management near religious sites. The investigation will need to establish how a heavy vehicle entered a restricted stretch, who was responsible for the checkpoint, and what changes are needed before the next festival.