Overview
- The blast and ensuing fire occurred on Friday near Jai Stambh Chowk in Sarni, about 60 km from Betul district headquarters.
- The victim was identified as 30-year-old Sunil Kumar Lokhande, also known as Guddu, who earned a living by running private tuition classes.
- Eyewitnesses said a shopkeeper tried to put out the flames with water but the fire had already intensified.
- Sarni police sent the body for post-mortem and opened an investigation into the incident.
- The e-tricycle was allotted by the local municipal body under the Chief Minister’s Divyangjan Empowerment Scheme, and the cause of the battery explosion remains undetermined.