An Ola Electric scooter was captured on video catching fire outside the company’s showroom in Bengaluru, sparking widespread discussion and backlash on social media. The incident took place near Jayadev Hospital in the BTM Layout locality, with the video showing onlookers recording the burning scooter. Congress spokesperson Lavanya Ballal Jain shared the video on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), drawing significant attention.
The video quickly became a talking point, with users taking jabs at Ola for what they allege to be faulty products. Some users humorously dubbed the incident Ola’s “special Diwali feature,” with comments like “Ola’s corporate Diwali party” and “Preparing for Diwali Dhamaka?” Others used the incident to criticize Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, referring to him as a “scamster.”
The incident adds to a string of criticisms against Ola for allegedly providing substandard service to its scooter customers. Although Ola Electric recently reported that 99.1% of all customer complaints have been satisfactorily resolved, it comes just after the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a show-cause notice on October 7 due to numerous complaints regarding their scooters and unresolved service issues.