Overview
- A paddy-laden truck ran into worshippers queued outside the 125-year-old Sheetla Mata temple on the intervening night of October 17–18, killing 15 people and injuring more than two dozen.
- The driver, Dilbagh (Bilbagh) Singh, fled the scene but was found hiding and arrested hours later and the truck owner, Harpreet Singh, was also detained; police have taken a blood sample from the driver for toxicology testing.
- Police say the driver told investigators he used a Google Maps detour to avoid a ₹3,000 toll and that brake pressure dropped on a sloping curve, and officials are awaiting a forensic mechanical report to test the claim of mechanical failure.
- Officials reported preliminary signs of heavy overloading though the vehicle has not been formally weighed, and they suspended eight policemen and transferred the city SP after finding constables absent at a nearby check post.
- The state ordered a magisterial probe with a seven-day deadline, announced ex gratia payments for victims, and officials warned the inquiry and departmental probes will determine criminal and administrative responsibility.