A 63-year-old farmer escaped unhurt after his electric scooter caught fire near a tea shop at Thimiri village near Arcot town in Ranipet on Sunday.

The police said that V. Babu, a farmer in Ammur village near Arcot town, purchased an e-scooter a few months ago. After completing routine service of the vehicle, Babu was returning to his on Arcot - Arani Main Road when he stopped the vehicle to have tea from a roadside outlet.

The police said as he was consuming tea, Babu noticed smoke emanating from the scooter. A fire engulfed the entire vehicle. Residents and neighbours tried to douse the fire, but they were unable to do it. They alerted Thimiri police and firefighters who, after nearly half an hour, doused the fire.

The police said that an electrical short circuit might be the reason for the incident. They also said that charging the vehicle for too long could have caused the fire as the vehicle had just returned from the service centre.