Ola Electric customer arrested after setting showroom ablaze in India, police say

The Ola company logo is seen on one of its electric scooters, ahead of the company's IPO launch in Mumbai, India, July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

Source: REUTERS

By VarunVyas Hebbalalu

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 unsatisfactory servicing of a recently-purchased e-scooter, a police official said on Wednesday.

The incident comes amid growing public ire over servicing at Ola Electric, India's no. 1 e-scooter maker. Several mechanics have said Ola service centres face significant backlog and are facing difficulty in dealing with the volume of complaints.

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Mohammad Nadeem, a mechanic by profession, bought the two-wheeler last month, a few days after which he brought it back for servicing on facing trouble with the scooter, the commissioner of police for Kalaburagi, a city some 570 kilometres from Bengaluru, said by telephone.

"The (servicing) response was not good, he went multiple times. Yesterday (Tuesday), when he went, he carried petrol and set fire to six bikes," he said, adding no one was injured in the incident.

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

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ola Electric said an incident of arson had occurred at one of its brand stores in Kalaburagi and that the perpetrator had been identified, with a First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the individual.

"We at Ola highly condemn such unlawful acts, and will take all necessary legal measures to ensure that appropriate and strict actions are taken in this matter and such incidents are not repeated," the company said in the post.

The police officer, Sharanappa S.D, quantified the damage to the showroom to be worth 850,000 rupees ($10,128.81).

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

Reuters was not able to reach Nadeem for a comment.

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