Vidyaram Tyagi lost his two sons and younger brother, who were standing in the queue at Shitala Mata Temple in Gwalior as a truck rammed into the devotees on Sunday early morning killing 15 persons and leaving 27 injured.
“My two sons and my brother are gone. I want justice. When even two-wheelers were not being allowed in the area, how was a truck allowed? Tyagi asked, questioning the police arrangements. Police quoting the truck driver claimed that the brakes of the truck failed causing the accident. “The police killed my son. Where was police security when an out-of-control truck overturned onto my son at midnight? Gaurav got married four months ago. I just ran away when people shouted. I saw them under the truck. I asked the police for help, but nobody had any answer about when they would remove the truck and rescue them. “I started running from the accident site to the Vicky factory on foot. “People tried to rescue those trapped themselves. We removed a truck tyre and used a jack to free victims. For Savitri Kushwaha, the search for her relative turned into a nightmare. After offering prayers, her group exited the temple but Divyansh, her sister-in-law’s son, was missing.
Around 1:30 am on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, a paddy-laden truck coming from the Chinor side lost control on the slope, broke through the police barricades and ploughed through devotees and prasad stalls before crashing into the temple’s entrance gate. Mother of Gaurav Parihar, 23, from Badagaon Khureri, Kiran Parihar, held the police personnel responsible for her son’s death. Her younger son Saurabh Parihar, 15, who witnessed the horror, said, “In a blink, the truck hit my sister, brother and my friend. I paid ₹ 800 and hired a crane to take out my brother and sister. Only around 4 am did the crane reach and bring out the bodies. The police did nothing till 4 am,” he said. Between 50 and 60 people were trapped when the wall collapsed,” Chauhan said.
Because of failure of the administration, tyagi, however, questioned the claim saying the devotees died.
“We want people responsible to be held accountable,” he said. Even after the accident, no help came,” she said.
