VIJAYAWADA: An electric scooter belonging to a businessman caught fire and was reduced to ashes at his house at Devuni Cheruvu under Chilakalapudi police station limit. The incident which happened on Thursday evening came to light on Friday.
According to fire department officials, around 4 pm on Thursday, Parasa Skanda Kumar parked his electric scooter manufactured by a Telangana-based 'MAC Motors' in front of his house and kept it on charge.
A few minutes after he went inside his house, Kumar's neighbours witnessed smoke billowing out from the vehicle and alerted him, who informed to fire department. Upon receiving the information, fire department officials rushed to the spot and doused the fire, but in vain.
The officials said as per the preliminary assessment, the vehicle caught fire due to an internal short circuit in the battery panel. Speaking to the media, fire officer Ramakrishna said: "This is the first such incident reported in the State. Based on a complaint from the scooter owner, we will ascertain reason behind the fire from the scooter’s manufacturer."
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Skanda Kumar said he purchased the scooter in January last and that he incurred a loss of Rs 1.5 lakh due to the accident, which he could’t recover.