A day after 15 devotees were killed near a temple in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior, police are investigating whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol or had taken a Google Maps shortcut when his truck crashed into a crowd, an official said on Monday.
At least 15 people were killed and more than 25 injured when a speeding truck ploughed into devotees outside the 125-year-old Sheetla Mata temple at around 1.30 am on Sunday.
According to police, two allegedly overloaded trucks carrying paddy travelled around 7 km along a road where heavy vehicles were prohibited before one of them went out of control near the shrine.
The driver, Bilbagh Singh, a 40-year-old Delhi resident, was arrested hours after fleeing the crash site. He was found hiding near the shrine in a state of shock, said Ashish Sharma, acting station house officer of Jhansi Road police station.
"We have collected a blood sample of the driver to ascertain whether he was under the influence of alcohol when the truck entered the restricted road and ran over devotees waiting for darshan," Sharma said.
Police were also investigating whether the driver had followed a Google Maps shortcut that directed him towards the temple, he said
Addressing reports that the truck was carrying 32 tonnes of paddy, Sharma said the vehicle had not yet been officially weighed, although preliminary findings confirmed that it was heavily loaded.
According to locals, the two trucks were travelling from Bhitarwar towards Punjab when they bypassed the main highway and took the Chinaur-Amrol route after the drivers became lost on unfamiliar rural roads.
Villagers near Amrol said they had warned the drivers that the road ahead was closed to heavy vehicles. However, the drivers continued, with locals claiming they could smell alcohol on their breath.
Despite a designated police checkpoint on the Chinaur route, both trucks passed through unhindered towards the shrine, where an estimated one lakh devotees had gathered for Ashtami celebrations.
As the road narrowed near a steep incline, one truck came to a halt while the other barrelled down the slope out of control, destroying roadside stalls and mowing down devotees before crashing into the temple's entrance gate.
The impact destroyed part of the structure and killed 15 people, including five teenagers and two women.
Locals have questioned how two heavy vehicles managed to pass police checkpoints and reach the crowded temple despite the restrictions.
Witnesses said the truck's collision with the gate prevented it from ploughing further into the dense queues of worshippers.
(With inputs from PTI)
