Aggrieved customer torches Ola bike showroom in Karnataka

Kalaburagi: An aggrieved Ola Electric customer set a company's showroom on fire after an argument with the staff over issues in his newly-purchased electric vehicle in Karnataka's Kalaburagi city.

The accused was identified as 26-year-old Mohammad Nadeem.

Earlier, the police suspected that a short circuit may have caused the fire.

However, investigations revealed that Nadeem set the showroom on fire on Tuesday. Six new Ola electric vehicles and other materials worth lakhs of rupees were gutted in the incident.

The police probe revealed that the accused, Nadeem, had bought the new electric bike 20 days ago and it developed snags, requiring repeated visits to the showroom for repair work.

Nadeem argued with the showroom staff, alleging that his vehicle was not being properly repaired, the police said.

Frustrated with repeated arguments following the breakdown of his vehicle, Nadeem bought petrol and poured it on the showroom early in the morning when it was locked and set it on fire.

After noticing the thick smoke billowing from the showroom, the locals informed the owner and the police. By the time, the fire brigade and emergency services reached the spot and extinguished the fire, the showroom was gutted.

The authorities managed to prevent the fire from spreading to adjacent showrooms in the building.

Chowk police, who initially registered the incident as a possible fire incident, cracked the case after preliminary investigations and detained Nadeem, who confessed to the crime during questioning.

Police sources said that the accused will be arrested and produced before the court. Further investigation is on.

Videos and photos of the incident have gone viral on social media. However, the police have yet to issue an official statement regarding the incident.