Sharanraj and his family were on their way to JPNagar from Shivajinagar and when his van neared the Cubbon Park police station, he noticed smoke coming from the radiator.
He immediately stopped the vehicle and asked his family, including three children and two women, to move out. Minutes after he too got out, the four-wheeler caught fire and was engulfed in flames.
Before the vehicle was completely gutted, fire force personnel reached the spot and put out the fire.
Traffic was disrupted for over half an hour on the busy Kasturba road.
According to the police, a short circuit in the battery box may have caused fire.
The Cubbon Park police monitored the situation.
Published 06 October 2009, 20:13 IST