A day after a couple, including a pregnant woman, were charred to death after their car caught fire at Kannur district in Kerala, another similar instance of fire in a moving car took place in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.
Back to back incidents triggered a row over fixing of electric accessories in vehicles.
The fresh incident took place at Venjaramoodu on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. The driver managed to stop the car and came out as soon as he noticed the fire. There were no other passengers in the vehicle.
Following the tragic incident at Kannur on Thursday an official of the state Fire and Rescue Services wing said that fixing on electric accessories by inexperienced persons was often leading to short-circuits that ignite the fire.
This had not gone down well with the car accessories dealers in the state who alleged that a baseless campaign against the vehicle accessory shop was going on for some time.
Car Accessories Dealers and Distributors Federation state committee member Muhammed Shafi said in a social media post that the official blamed it on accessories for the fire without any evidence. Such campaigns would affect the livelihood of hundreds of persons working in the sector, he said, adding that there were many instances of rats damaging electric wires in vehicles.
Published 03 February 2023, 14:01 IST