Gwalior, A day after 15 devotees were killed near a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior, the police are probing if the driver was under the influence of alcohol or had taken a Google Maps shortcut when he crashed his truck into a crowd, an official said on Monday.
Despite a designated police checkpoint on the Chinaur route, both trucks passed through unhindered towards the shrine, when an estimated one lakh devotees had gathered for Ashtami celebrations. Locals have raised questions about how two heavy vehicles managed to pass police checkpoints and reach the crowded temple despite restrictions. The two paddy-laden trucks, allegedly overloaded, travelled around 7 km along a road where heavy vehicles were prohibited before one of them went out of control near the shrine, according to the police. 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, Jhansi Road police station’s acting station house officer Ashish Sharma said. Police were also probing whether the driver had followed a Google Maps shortcut, which directed him towards the temple, he said.
