Frustrated youth sets faulty electric scooter ablaze outside showroom

CHENNAI: A youth poured petrol on his electric scooter and set it on fire, frustrated by the frequent maintenance work in Ambattur, Tamil Nadu. Parthasarathy (38), a native of Thirumullaivayal, set his Ather electric scooter on fire in front of the showroom.

Parthasarathy bought the electric scooter for Rs 1.8 lakh three years ago. The young man says that he started noticing problems within a month. Every month, he has to set aside an average of Rs 5,000 for the maintenance of the vehicle. He was asked for the bearings to be replaced every 5,000 km and the service center postponed the service, saying that spare parts were not available. The youth said that he was even more disappointed when he was asked again to change the brake pads, wheel bearings and belt.

The young man, who had reached the showroom with the scooter, tried to set it on fire. The employees tried to calm him down but he did not back down. He poured petrol and set the vehicle on fire. The employees later informed the police and extinguished the fire. The police arrived and let the young man go.