'Most unfortunate, heavy penalty on erring companies': Nitin Gadkari on EV two-wheeler fires

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After several incidents have come to light in the past few weeks of mishaps in electric vehicles, Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari said that an Expert Committee to enquire into the incident has been constituted. 

In order to send a strong message, Gadkari said that any company that is found negligent of the process will be slapped with a heavy penalty. 

"Several mishaps involving Electric Two Wheelers have come to light in last two months. It is most unfortunate that some people have lost their lives and several have been injured in these incidents."

"We have constituted an Expert Committee to enquire into these incidents and make recommendations on remedial steps. Based on the reports, we will issue necessary orders to the defaulting companies. We will soon issue quality-centric guidelines for Electric Vehicles," the union minister added. 

"Meanwhile companies may take advance action to Recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately," he said further. 

Earlier in the day, an 80-year-old man died and three of his family members suffered burn injuries when the battery of an electric scooter plugged in for charging exploded at their house in Nizamabad district, police said. 

In another incident, a video of an Ola electric scooter catching fire in Pune went viral on social media last month, after which a probe was ordered. 

There has been a spate of incidents where electric vehicles have caught fire, with the recent one reported from Nashik in Maharashtra -- where 20 of the 40 electric scooters caught fire on April 9 when they were being loaded in a container.

Earlier in March, about four incidents of electric scooters catching fire, including in Okinawa and Ola, were reported from different places in the country, prompting the government to order a forensic investigation.