Man sets bike showroom on fire over recurring issue in scooter, arrested

A 26-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly setting fire to an electric bike showroom in the Kalaburagi district of Karnataka due to his frustration over a recurring issue in his scooter

A 26-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly setting fire to an electric bike showroom in the Kalaburagi district of Karnataka due to his frustration over a recurring issue in his scooter, police said.

The accused allegedly set the bike showroom on fire due to his frustration over repeated issue in his scooter. (HT Photo)

The accused, identified as Mohammad Nadeem from Kalaburagi, allegedly used petrol to set the Ola Electric showroom on Tuesday after multiple attempts to resolve a technical issue with his electric scooter failed.

Chowk police inspector Raghavendra Bhajantri said that Nadeem had bought the scooter last month. “He started facing problems with the scooter soon after, with a strange noise coming from the rear wheel belt,” he said. “Despite bringing the scooter back to the showroom twice for repairs, the problem was not fixed.”

On Tuesday morning, the accused visited the showroom and demanded either a replacement vehicle or refund of the ₹1.4 lakh he had spent on the scooter, said Bhajantri. “When the manager refused, he took out a bottle of petrol, poured it around the showroom, and set it on fire,” the officer added.

Showroom manager M Pavan, who was present during the incident, said that employees tried to calm the accused before he the shop on fire. “Before we could calm him down, he poured petrol around the place and ignited it,” he said. “Six scooters, along with furniture and electronic equipment, were completely destroyed in the fire. The total damage is estimated to exceed ₹10 lakh.”

Firefighters later arrived at the scene and brought the fire under control, preventing further damage to neighbouring buildings.

Police booked Nadeem under sections 112 (petty organised crime), 326F (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to cause damage), 326G(mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy property) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He was later produced before a local court in Kalaburagi and was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.