The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will send two experts to identify the root cause of the fire accident at the electric bike showroom which clamed eight lives on Monday night.
The experts will visit the showroom after the police submitted its preliminary finding, according to Ministry officials.
The Ministry ordered the inquiry as the fire in the showroom was a cause of concern at a time when the Centre was aggressively pursuing electric vehicles as a mode of transport to save on fuel and to check pollution.
After a series of fire accidents involving electric vehicles recently, the Ministry of Road Transport introduced additional safety provisions in the battery safety standards, which would come into effect from October 1. This would include additional safety requirements related to battery cells, on-board charger, design of battery pack and thermal propagation due to internal cell short circuit leading to fire, officials said.
In April this year, cases were reported of electric two-wheelers of manufacturers such as Ola Electric, Okinawa Autotech and PureEV catching fire. After that, the government formed a panel to examine and recommend additional safety requirements in the existing battery safety standards notified under commercial motor vehicle rules.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari warned companies of penalties if they were found to be negligent. He said the Ministry would recall defective vehicles.
The police, however, have completed preliminary finding which said that there were 28 electric bikes, eight petrol bikes, generators and open batteries in the showroom. All of them were completely burnt. There were also four commercial LPG cylinders which were found in leaky condition and installed in the cellar with connectivity to the kitchen located on rooftop. Eight persons died due to toxic smoke inhalation and subsequent unconsciousness.
It appeared that the smoke first emerged from an e-bike kept for charging. However, reports from fire and electricity departments, Forensic Science Lab and other investigating agencies were awaited to determine the exact cause of fire.
There was prima facie evidence that safety norms were violated in charging of batteries. Absence of required permissions for the hotel building and e-bike showroom and misuse of parking place were major lapses were noticed.
