A six-seater, trying to avoid a truck coming from the opposite direction, crashed into the safety barriers of the Holkar bridge. Passers-by rushed in, pulling back the six-seater and set it on its regular course. No damage, no injuries.

But the real drama unfolded after that. Curious onlookers rushed in and the six-seater was subjected to a ``gruesome'' fate. Rumour spread that the six-seater had ``fallen in'' with all the passengers trapped inside. Soon there was a huge crowd at the site, sparking chaos on the bridge. Some of them claimed they were the ``eye-witnesses'' to the event and belted out graphic details of the ``major accident.''

The fire brigade descended at the scene around 2 pm; made desperate efforts to track down the rickshaw in the quiet waters, but all in ``vain.'' They left the site and so did the police.

But the trucks and buses passing by, kept halting at the site of the accident trying to get a look, jamming traffic. It continued late into the evening.

What was left behind were the rumour mongers and the apocalyptic visionaries who insisted that the worst had happened. One man even swam around the area trying to find the six-seater but came up with nought. Which wasn't enough to satisfy the increasing number of onlookers. Chaos continued.

Some army personnel from the nearby BEG Centre offered to go into the water but stayed back. Till late evening people were debating whether the six-seater had really fallen in and if it had, what they could do to make the six-seater resurface. In the end all that drowned was good old and mundane reality.