Ola Electric customer arrested after setting fire to showroom in India: police

By Varun Vyas Hebbalalu

BENGALURU (Reuters) – A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to an Ola Electric showroom in the southern Indian state of Karnataka over improper maintenance of a recently purchased electric scooter, a police official said on Wednesday.

The incident comes amid growing public anger over maintenance at Ola Electric, India’s leading maker of electric scooters. Several mechanics said Ola service centres are facing a severe backlog and are struggling to handle the volume of complaints.

Mohammad Nadeem, a mechanic by profession, bought the two-wheeler last month and a few days later brought it for servicing due to problems with the scooter, the police commissioner of Kalaburagi, a town located about 570 kilometres from the tech capital Bengaluru, said over phone.

“The reaction (of the services) was not good, he went several times. Yesterday (Tuesday), when he went, he was carrying petrol and set fire to six motorcycles,” he said.

No one was injured in the incident, he said.

Reuters could not immediately verify what was wrong with the vehicle.

Sharanappa SD police officer estimated the damage to the showroom at Rs 850,000 ($10,128.81).

Ola Electric, which listed last month, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Reuters could not reach Nadeem and the Ola showroom for comment.

Ola has 431 petrol stations across India, according to its website.

($1 = 83.9190 Indian Rupees)

(Reporting by Varun Hebbalalu in Bangalore; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)