Gwalior: A devastating high-speed collision in Gwalior early Friday morning, March 27, 2026, claimed the lives of five family members and left four others seriously injured. The tragedy occurred around 2:50 AM at Parshuram Chauraha when a speeding SUV, which was being chased by the police for a prior hit-and-run incident, crashed into an auto-rickshaw carrying devotees returning from the Sheetla Mata temple on the occasion of Ram Navami. The force of the impact was so severe that the auto-rickshaw was crushed against a neem tree, according to local witnesses.
The deceased have been identified as Indrajeet Shakya (55), his wife Leela (52), Shubham Kashyap (30), his wife Shagun (25)—all residents of Gwalior—and their relative Pinky Kashyap (60) from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. Gwalior Zone Inspector General of Police Arvind Saxena confirmed that four victims were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital, while a fifth succumbed to injuries shortly after. Among the four injured currently undergoing treatment are two children, aged 5 and 6, and the 28-year-old auto driver, Rajesh Kumar.
The driver of the SUV, identified as 26-year-old Aman Sharma, has been arrested. Investigations revealed that the police were pursuing Sharma after his vehicle had hit an e-rickshaw near a local bus stand earlier that night. Instead of stopping, Sharma attempted a high-speed escape, leading to the fatal second collision. This incident comes less than 24 hours after another major road tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district, where ten people were killed in a bus collision, highlighting a grim week for road safety in the state.
