Telangana: 80-year-old man dies after electric scooter battery explodes in living room, four injured

A Venkateswarlu, assistant commissioner of police, Nizamabad, told indianexpress.com that a case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 304A (causing death due to negligence) against Hyderabad-based startup Pure EV that had manufactured the scooter and the dealer.

According to a statement from sub-inspector Sai Nath of Three Town police station, Prakash removed the battery from the scooter and kept it for charging around 12.30 am. His father Ramaswamy, mother Kamalamma, and son Kalyan were sleeping in the living room when the battery allegedly exploded around 4 am injuring them. Prakash and his wife Krishnaveni also suffered minor injuries while fighting the flames, according to the police.

As the injured were undergoing treatment at a private hospital, Ramaswamy’s condition worsened and he succumbed to injuries while being shifted to Hyderabad for better treatment, said the police.

Meanwhile, Pure EV expressed regret over the incident and issued a statement Thursday noting that it was fully cooperating with the local investigating agencies. It said it had instructed its dealer to get complete details about the incident from the complainant.

“From our customer database we do not have any record of sale done or service availed by the quoted user in the media. Our dealer is exploring whether the vehicle was purchased through second-hand sale from any of our first buyers,” Pure EV said.

Offering to provide necessary assistance to the users of its electric scooters, it further said that “Pure EV takes safety of its customers and vehicles very seriously with constant dissemination about availing scheduled free services and through information campaigns for best practices related to vehicle safety.”