Pilgrim Van Slams Into Parked Truck on Delhi-Adjacent Expressway, Killing Six
Bharatmorning.com – Palwal – A group of roughly twenty pilgrims from western Uttar Pradesh lost six of their number in the early hours of Tuesday when the pick-up van carrying them struck a truck that had been left parked on the shoulder of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway near Maheshpur village in Palwal district, Haryana. Fourteen more members of the group sustained injuries and were rushed to the civil hospital in Palwal for treatment.
The collision occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m., according to Inspector Hari Kishan, station house officer at Palwal Sadar police station. The force of the impact was described as severe enough to render the Bolero van beyond recognition, trapping several passengers inside the mangled cabin.
Victims Identified
Police confirmed the six fatalities as Vijay Singh, Raj Kumar, Reshma Devi, Kamla Devi, Sudha, and Mahesh. The fourteen injured were admitted to the civil hospital in Palwal, where their conditions ranged from moderate to critical. Hospital officials indicated that some of the more seriously wounded pilgrims would require transfer to larger facilities for specialised care.
The Pilgrimage Route
The van had been hired by residents of Kishanpur Muraiya, Makoaya, Chanda, and adjoining villages in Mainpuri district, Uttar Pradesh, for a multi-day religious journey. Before departure, the rear cargo area of the vehicle had been fitted with two wooden decks to serve as sleeping platforms for the passengers. The group had visited the Khatu Shyam temple in Sikar and the Salasar Balaji temple in Churu, both located in Rajasthan, on Monday. Their intended next destination was the town of Vrindavan, reached via Mathura and the Palwal corridor, when the crash occurred.
The KMP Expressway, which links the western suburbs of Delhi to the Haryana heartland, is a high-speed arterial route that pilgrims and long-distance travellers frequently use to reach temples in western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Its design assumes continuous forward motion at speeds well above 80 km/h, making any stationary obstruction on the carriageway or shoulder a potentially lethal hazard.
Driver Flees the Scene
In a detail that has drawn sharp criticism, the driver of the illegally parked truck reportedly started the engine immediately after the collision and drove away from the crash site, abandoning the injured pilgrims on the road. Police are now working to identify the vehicle and its operator.
“Soon after the collision, the driver of the illegally parked truck started the vehicle and sped away from the spot leaving behind all the injured victims,” Inspector Hari Kishan stated.
The SHO added that authorities are reviewing CCTV footage captured along the expressway corridor in an effort to determine the truck’s registration number and trace the driver. A first information report was in the process of being filed against the man at the time of reporting.
“We are scanning CCTV camera footage of the expressway to trace the truck’s registration number to ascertain the identity of the driver and trace him,” he said.
Rescue and Emergency Response
A senior police officer briefed on the incident described the scene as chaotic in the minutes following the impact. Because the Bolero’s structure was so badly compromised, rescue crews had to work methodically to free passengers pinned inside the wreckage.
“Most of those who died were extricated after 20 to 40 minutes of efforts from the wreck,” the officer said.
Within a short window of the crash, multiple emergency-response units converged on the location. Police personnel, ambulances, and patrol teams from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) were all deployed to stabilise the scene, extract trapped victims, and transport the injured to medical care.
“Soon, multiple emergency response vehicles, police and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) patrol teams and ambulances were pressed into action for the rescue work,” the senior officer added, noting that several of the injured pilgrims remained in critical condition and might need to be shifted to other hospitals for better treatment.
Broader Road-Safety Concerns
The incident underscores a recurring danger on India’s expressway network: vehicles that park on or beside the carriageway without adequate warning signage, reflective markers, or hazard lights. At dawn, when visibility is still limited and drivers may be fatigued after overnight travel, a stationary truck on the shoulder presents a near-invisible obstacle until the moment of impact. The fact that the truck’s driver departed the scene without rendering aid or calling for help compounds the tragedy and raises questions about enforcement of road-traffic rules governing parking on high-speed corridors.
Authorities in Palwal district have not yet announced whether the truck was parked due to a mechanical failure, a driver’s rest stop, or some other reason. The FIR, once finalised, will determine the charges laid against the driver and whether additional liability attaches to any entity responsible for the vehicle’s operation. Families of the six deceased and the fourteen injured are expected to seek compensation through the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, a process that typically follows the conclusion of the police investigation.
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