Five e-scooters catch fire in Ranipet

Police said that an electrical short circuit could have been the reason for the incident.

Five electric scooters caught fire at the showroom at Kaveripakkam village near Walajah town in Ranipet on Thursday.

Police said that Y. Suresh, 49, a resident of Walajah town, was running an e-scooter showroom on Bazaar Street in Kaveripakkam village near Walajah town. Initial inquiry revealed that, Suresh reportedly plugged in the vehicles to charge the batteries, but apparently forgot to disconnect the power supply before closing the showroom on Wednesday.

On Thursday, a few residents alerted Suresh about smoke in the showroom. Police said that when he opened the showroom, Suresh saw that five e-scooters were gutted and 10 other vehicles were damaged in the fire. Based on the alert, firefighters doused the blaze in the outlet.

Police said that an electrical short circuit could have been the reason for the incident. They also said that charging the vehicle for too long could have caused the fire, as damaged vehicles were plugged in for charging. A case was registered and further probe is underway.

The police said this was not the first time that electric scooters had caught fire. In February 2023, an electric scooter parked on the veranda of a house in Vaniyambadi near Tirupattur caught fire. The vehicle was left to charge the previous night before the owner of the vehicle S. Ihsanuallh, went to sleep. The fire gutted his bike and the meter box.