Govt asks Ola Electric to explain why its electric scooter caught fire

The government may call Ola Electric to explain the incident where an Ola e-scooter caught fire in Pune, while CFEES had been asked to probe the circumstances.

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The government had ordered a probe last month after an e-scooter launched by Ola, the ride-hailing operator's electric mobility arm, caught fire in Pune. The government may ask Ola Electric to explain the incident, a senior government official said on April 7. 

"If required, the government may call Ola Electric to explain the incident," Giridhar Aramane, Secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, said. The Centre for Fire Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES) had been asked to probe the circumstances that led to the incident and also suggest remedial measures, according to the road transport ministry.

The ministry had also asked CFEES to share the findings along with its suggestions on measures to prevent such incidents. The incident came to light after a video of the e-scooter engulfed in flame was widely circulated on social media with users raising questions over the safety standards of the vehicle.

Reacting to the incident, Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal had said, "safety is the top priority. We're investigating this and will fix it." The CFEES comes under the SAM (System Analysis and Modelling) cluster of DRDO labs. 

(With inputs from PTI)