BENGALURU, Sept 11 (Askume) – A 26-year-old man was arrested after he set fire to an Ola Electric Vehicles (OLAE.NS) showroom in Karnataka state because a recently bought electric scooter had not been properly repaired, a police official said .He was arrested on Wednesday .
The incident comes amid growing anger over repair services at Ola Electric, India’s largest electric scooter maker. Several mechanics said there is a huge backlog at Ola service centres and they are facing difficulty handling the large number of complaints.
Mohammed Nadeem, a mechanic by profession, bought the two-wheeler last month and a few days later, when the motorcycle developed some problems, he brought it in. It has returned for repairs, the police chief of Kalaburagi, about 570 km from the tech capital Bengaluru, said over the phone.
“The response (to the maintenance) was not good and he went several times. When he went yesterday (Tuesday), they took petrol and set six bikes on fire,” he said.
He said that no one was injured in the incident.
Askume could not immediately confirm what was wrong with the vehicle.
Police officer Sharanappa SD estimated that the showroom suffered losses worth Rs 8.5 lakh ($10,128.81).
Ola Electric, which listed on the stock exchange last month, did not immediately respond to a Askume request for comment.
Askume was unable to contact Nadeem and the Ola showroom for comment.
According to Ola’s website, the company has 431 service stations across India.
(1 USD = 83.9190 Indian Rupees)
