One killed as battery of EV scooter explodes in Telangana

Hyderabad: A man was killed and two others injured when the battery of an electric two-wheeler exploded in their house in Telangana's Nizamabad district.

According to police, the incident occurred on the night of April 19 in a house where the the battery was being charged.

An 80-year-old man, identified as B. Ramaswamy, died in the incident while his son B. Prakash and daughter Kamalamma suffered burn injuries when they tried to rescue him. They were admitted to a hospital.

The explosion occurred in a room where Ramaswamy was asleep. His son Prakash had been using the EV scooter for one year.

Ramaswamy was taken to a hospital in Nizamabad and later shifted to Hyderabad but he succumbed on the way.

Police registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 304A (causing death due to negligence) against Pure EV and took up investigation.

Meanwhile, Pure EV issued a statement deeply regretting the incident.

"We deeply regret the incident and offer condolences to the family of the victim," it said, adding that it is cooperating with local authorities and seeking details from the user.

The EV manufacturer also stated that it has no record of sale of this vehicle or service by the user in the database and is checking if the vehicle was purchased through a second hand sale.

This is the latest in a series of such incidents in the country. Three Pure EV scooters and electric vehicles of some other manufacturers caught fire in separate incidents in recent months.