Electric bike short circuit shatters happy family in Chennai's Maduravoyal, sparks EV safety debate

CHENNAI: A pall of gloom descended on the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) here on Monday when a young mother was shown the charred body of her 9-month-old girl child who died after a fire mishap while charging an electric bike.

The father of the deceased child is now being attended to at the burns ward in KMC’s ICU, while the mother, with 8 per cent burn injuries, is emotionally drained after going through the tragic turn of events.

When DT Next visited the ward, the relatives poured out their grief about the ill-fated day in Maduravoyal. The unexpected fire accident created a debate among motorists and consumer activists over the safety and reliability of electric vehicles.

This reporter witnessed the 28-year-old mother, Manju, battling tears battling between the grief of her girl child’s death and her husband lying unconscious in the ICU, struggling for life. While the relatives took turns to console the grieving mother, the relatives chose not to reveal the death of their child to the father when he gained consciousness.

"The ill-fated bike was of a German company purchased by Gowthaman's father six years ago," said Agathaya, a grieving relative. The family is grappling with the situation of how to cremate the remains as the body of the girl has been charred beyond recognition.

"Gowthaman has suffered 40 per cent burns, and Manju has eight per cent burns," said a doctor attached to KMC. The reason for the electrical fire is unknown but the safety concerns have once again cropped up safety of electric vehicles, especially while charging, said Karthick a resident of Maduravoyal.

Calls are growing louder for a proper safety audit. “A probe to find whether this is a manufacturing issue should be conducted. The manufacturer and the dealer should also be probed," said T Sadagopan, president of Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre.

Though EV vehicles are economical in terms of fuel consumption, batteries are an issue, said K Kumar, a superbike mechanic based in Ayanavaram. He suggests opting for safer brands.

The tragic turn of events started after the e-bike went up in flames on Sunday around 5.30 am. Gowthaman woke up his wife and tried to move them to a safer place on the first floor. As he had to cross the bike in its charging location to get to the stairs and they had underestimated the intensity of the fire, they were engulfed in the fire. Hearing their screams, neighbours rushed to their aid, put out the fire and then moved them to the hospital, where the child succumbed.