7 e-bikes gutted in showroom after 'battery overheating'

PUNE: Seven electric two-wheelers worth Rs 7 lakh were charred after one of the vehicles caught fire in suspected battery overheating at an e-bike showroom on Kondhwa-Bibvewadi Road around 7.50pm on Monday. Nobody was injured in the incident.
Ruling out short-circuit as the cause of fire, fire officer Pradeep Khedekar told TOI, "We suspect the fire was caused due to battery overheating during power charging. Only the vehicle's chassis was found at the spot, while its engine, battery and fibre were completely damaged."
Dhanesh Oswal, the owner of the showroom, denied such a possibility and said only a proper probe would reveal the cause of the fire. "Our showroom is spread over 350sqft and had 16 e-bikes at the time of the incident. Our staffers managed to move nine e-bikes to a safer place," Oswal said. He said the cost of the damaged e-bikes was Rs1 lakh per piece.
The showroom owner said his staffers were attending a customer when flames started emanating from one of the vehicles. "The fire then spread and engulfed six other vehicles. We have requested the vehicle manufacturer to inspect the e-bikes," Oswal said.