Police to Record Statements of 20 More People in Indore EV Fire Case — Investigation Widens as Cylinder Storage, Smart Lock Failure Come Under Scrutiny

Five days after eight people died in the Brijeshwari Annexe fire triggered by an EV charging cable, Indore police are set to record statements of 20 additional witnesses and family members as the probe zeroes in on illegal cylinder storage and faulty electronic door locks.

A Fire That Keeps Demanding Answers

The Indore fire of March 18, 2026 claimed eight lives in the space of a few terrifying minutes. Five days later, the investigation is widening rather than narrowing. Police are now preparing to record statements of at least 20 more individuals — family members, neighbours, first responders and building safety officials — as the probe deepens into what caused the blaze, why the house was storing far more LPG cylinders than permitted, and why electronic door locks that were supposed to provide security instead became a death trap.

What Happened That Night

Between 3:30 and 4:00 am on March 18, a fire broke out at Arham Villa — a residential building in Brijeshwari Annexe Colony in Indore's Tilak Nagar area. The house belonged to businessman Manoj Pugalia, 58. Twelve people were asleep inside. The fire is believed to have been triggered by a short circuit at the EV charging point outside the ground floor — where the family's electric vehicle was plugged in overnight.

The blaze spread rapidly through the ground floor wiring. Within minutes, the flames reached the LPG cylinders stored inside — and the catastrophe escalated. Between 4:00 and 4:30 am, multiple cylinders detonated one after another. Eight people — including Pugalia himself, his daughter-in-law Simran, 30, two children aged six and twelve, and four visiting relatives from Bihar's Kishanganj district — died. Three others survived by reaching an unlocked balcony. A 2.5-hour rescue operation involving police, fire department, and SDRF teams was required to bring the situation under control.

The 20 Statements — And What Police Are Looking For

The expanded statement-recording exercise is targeting three specific areas of inquiry. First, investigators want to establish the full extent and origin of the cylinder stockpile. Police recovered eight LPG cylinders from the scene — three of them commercial — after the fire. Multiple cylinders had exploded. The total number stored in the house before the fire may have been significantly higher. Investigators are asking why a residential home contained commercial LPG cylinders, where they were sourced from, and whether they were connected to a business operation being run from the premises.

Second, police are examining the role of the electronic smart locks on the building's doors. Indore's Police Commissioner confirmed that the electronic locks failed when the power supply was cut by the fire — jamming doors shut and trapping residents inside. This single failure, in a house that might otherwise have allowed occupants to escape, is believed to have directly contributed to the death toll. Investigators are seeking to establish whether the locks were certified for residential use, whether the family had a manual override mechanism, and whether any building safety inspection had flagged the locks as a potential hazard.

Third, statements will be recorded from first responders — particularly fire brigade personnel — about the timeline of the rescue operation and whether delays occurred at any stage.

The Smart Lock Failure — A New Urban Safety Hazard

The Tilak Nagar fire has brought an uncomfortable reality into sharp focus. Smart home technology — electronic locks, biometric entry systems, automated access controls — has been adopted rapidly in India's urban middle class over the past decade. The safety certification framework for these devices has not kept pace with adoption rates. In a fire or power failure scenario, a smart lock that cannot be mechanically overridden is not a security feature. It is a hazard.

The Indore fire is being cited by fire safety experts as a case study that urgently needs to be incorporated into India's National Building Code and municipal building permission frameworks. The Bureau of Indian Standards has guidelines for EV home charging safety — but these are not yet mandatory or uniformly enforced at the municipal level.

The EV Charging Angle — A National Conversation

The Indore fire has also reignited a national debate about EV home charging safety. India's electric vehicle adoption is accelerating — but the infrastructure to support it safely, including certified home charging installations, standardised equipment, consumer safety education, and regulatory enforcement, has not kept pace. The fire at Arham Villa is not the first EV charging fire in India — but its scale, its death toll, and its location in a residential neighbourhood in one of India's most prominent cities have given it an urgency that earlier incidents did not generate.

Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya confirmed that an expert committee has been constituted to investigate the incident and develop a standard operating procedure for electric vehicle charging in residential areas. The committee is expected to submit its preliminary findings within 30 days. A new citywide SOP for EV home charging in Indore is anticipated before the end of April.

The Bihar Connection — Visitors Who Never Came Home

Six of the eight people who died in the Tilak Nagar fire were from Bihar's Kishanganj district — relatives who had travelled to Indore to attend a family function at the Pugalia residence. They were guests who arrived for a celebration and never returned. Families in Kishanganj received the news of their deaths on the morning of March 18. The bodies were repatriated and last rites conducted. For the Pugalia family — which survived the fire but lost its patriarch and several members — and for the families in Bihar, the investigation's findings carry a weight that goes well beyond legal accountability.

What Comes Next

Police are expected to complete the statement-recording exercise over the next two to three days. A forensic report on the fire's origin point — the EV charging cable and its connection to the building's electrical system — is awaited. The investigation is being monitored at the district collector level, and the state government has committed to transparent disclosure of findings. Whether the probe results in criminal charges — against the building owners for illegal cylinder storage, against municipal officials for any safety inspection lapses, or against the EV charging equipment supplier — will depend on what the expanded statement process reveals.