Video Producer: Maaz Hasan
Video Editor: Prajjwal Kumar
On 28 November, my house in Navi Mumbai turned to ashes after the battery of my electric scooter parked inside a room caught fire. Even as my younger brother Hitesh and our mother managed to escape unharmed, we have lost everything else.
I was in college when Hitesh called me in panic and said, "Come home. There's a fire in the house." When I reached home, I saw our house completely burnt.
Narrating the incident, my brother told me that our mother was already in the bedroom when he entered and noticed some sparks and smoke coming from the battery.
Hitesh immediately asked my mother to leave the house and then ran out himself. It happened so quickly that he had to escape in just his shorts. They then alerted the neighbours, urging them to vacate their houses.
Later, the fire brigade arrived and managed to extinguish the flames, but when we went back inside, we found our house completely burned down.
'Unable to Understand How the Battery Caught Fire'
We bought a Joy E-Bike scooter on 30 December 2022. The battery was still under warranty.
When the battery caught fire, it wasn't even on charge, so I'm unable to understand how this massive fire broke out. We regret buying the electric bike... we have lost around 15-20 lakh because of that.
Now, despite being houseowners, we are forced to live on rent. Fortunately, a found a flat nearby, so we are currently residing there, but with the added burden of rent.
'Waiting To Hear From the Company'
I have mailed the company and have been following up with the dealership as well. But we haven't received a response from them regarding any compensation.
On 5 December, a site survey was conducted by the company, but till now, no further action has been taken. All our savings are gone – and we are not in a financial position to bear the loss of Rs 15-25 lakh.
My father works at A-Mart Supermarket as a cashier – and bought this house after saving every single penny.
Please help us because we cannot do this alone. We cannot bear this financial burden.
(The Quint has reached out to Joy E-Bike regarding the incident. Their response is awaited, and the story will be updated once they revert. The Quint also spoke to surveyor Azeem who said, "I have submitted my report to the company. They are yet to take a decision.")
(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)