An 80-year-old man died and four others of his family were injured when the battery of an electric scooter exploded while charging at home in Telangana's Nizamabad district on Wednesday. According to the Indian Express report, the deceased has been identified as B.Ramaswamy. Police said that his son, who works as a tailor, B. Prakash was using an EV scooter for a year. Nizamabad Assistant Commissioner of Police Venkateshwarlu said a case has been registered against a Hyderabad-based startup, which manufactured scooters and dealers, under section 304A (death by negligence) of the IPC.
According to the statement of three-town police sub-inspector Sai Nath, Prakash took out the battery from the scooter and kept it for charging at around 12.30. His father Ramaswamy, mother Kamalamma and son Kalyan were sleeping in the living room when the battery allegedly exploded around 4 am, injuring them. While fighting the flames, Prakash and his wife Krishnaveni also suffered minor injuries.
Police said the injured were undergoing treatment at a private hospital, Ramaswamy's condition deteriorated and he succumbed to his injuries on the way to Hyderabad for better treatment. This is the first such incident in Nizamabad and a response from the electric vehicle startup is awaited.