EV charging point not source of Indore fire that killed 8: Survivor

• TNN

• Published On Mar 20, 2026 at 10:32 AM IST

A survivor of the home fire that killed eight members of an extended family in MP’s Indore rejected on Thursday what he termed “a false narrative” about the blaze originating in an EV charging point and electronic locks preventing firefighers from getting into the three-story building.

Polymer businessman Manoj Pugalia’s son Saurabh, one among four survivors in the fire tragedy, said the family’s EV hatchback wasn’t even connected to the charging point when the blaze started around 3.30am Wednesday. “Since the car charger wasn’t connected to the power source, it is unclear how a short circuit could occur at the charging point,” he told reporters.

Saurabh also discounted the official theory that rescuers failed to enter the Brajeshwari Annexe building because the electronic locks’ opening mechanism got disabled without power supply. He said the source of the fire could be something “external”, citing videos circulating on social media that show an electricity pole outside the building enveloped in flames.Chief minister Mohan Yadav met the survivors and assured them of a scientific probe.