SUV catches fire at Vellore court complex

Fire breaks out during an attempt to start the parked car

A 39-year-old man escaped unhurt after his SUV caught fire inside the Combined Court Complex on the Chennai - Bengaluru Highway (NH 48) in Sathuvachari in Vellore on Wednesday. Police suspect that an electrical short circuit may have caused the accident.

The police said N. Satish Kumar, a resident of Thiruninravur near Avadi in Chennai, came to the court in Vellore to meet an advocate on Wednesday. After the meeting, he started his SUV and found smoke emanating from the bonnet.

Immediately, along with others in the court complex, he managed to push the vehicle outside the court complex on the service lane along the highway. By then, the SUV caught fire. The incident happened around 11.45 a.m within the limits of Sathuvachari police.

Upon receiving the alert, a seven-member team of firefighters, led by its Station Fire Officer (SFO), Vellore, S. Karthikeyan reached the spot. It took more than half an hour for the firefighters to put down the blaze.

However, the vehicle was completely gutted. Traffic was disrupted for more than an hour on the service lane due to the incident. Police said that the vehicle was a 2010 model and its owner had refurbished the vehicle where some electrical connection fault might have occurred. Police investigation is on.