The driver of the truck that crushed 15 people to death near a temple in Gwalior on Sunday allegedly used Google Maps to avoid paying ₹ 3,000 in toll tax, police said on Monday, adding that the vehicle lost control after its brake pressure dropped on a sloping curve.
Driver unfamiliar with route, police say
Police have arrested Singh and truck owner Harpreet Singh from Ludhiana . The trucks, travelling together, were carrying paddy from Dabra grain market to Punjab. Eight policemen were suspended and city SP Ravi Bhadauria transferred. A departmental inquiry has been ordered.
Driver Dilbag Singh told investigators that he lost control around 50 metres from the shrine , mowing down devotees waiting in a queue and ploughing through prasad stalls before crashing into the temple gate, according to police. “He tried to stop the truck just 50 metres away at the police check post, but by then the truck had gone out of control on the sloping curve leading to the temple. Police also found alleged negligence at a check post 500 metres from the temple, where two constables were reportedly absent. Chief minister Mohan Yadav announced compensation of ₹ 4 lakh for each deceased victim’s family, ₹ 2 lakh for the seriously injured and ₹ 50,000 for other injured people.
He said pressure reduced a lot,” Gwalior superintendent of police Dharamveer Yadav said. The SP said Singh, who had been driving heavy vehicles for four years, was unfamiliar with the route. The driver was not intoxicated, the SP said, adding that a mechanical forensic report was awaited.
