Thousands of EVMs used in WB Assembly elections gutted in fire

By The Slate Bureau

Kolkata, June 12: Amid the political turmoil in West Bengal following the recent Assembly Elections, a shocking incident has come to light in Kolkata. Over 4,000 EVMs used in the recent polls in the state have been destroyed by fire at a government building in the Alipore area of Kolkata.

Fire brigade personnel had to battle for almost 24 hours before the blaze could be brought under control.

Fire brigade personnel had to battle for almost 24 hours before the blaze could be brought under control. (Screengrab from Viral Video on X)

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari and Minister Sujit Bose have expressed suspicion regarding the incident. The police have initiated an investigation following the registration of an FIR regarding the incident.

The building housed offices of several government departments, including the office of the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad. Sujit Bose, the Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services in the Bengal government, confirmed that about 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. These EVMs had been used in 10 constituencies during the state assembly elections held earlier this year.

After visiting the site, Bose told the media that this did not appear to be an ordinary fire. "We are investigating whether there was any sabotage," he said.

"It remains unclear how the fire spread to the ninth and tenth floors. The fire was first spotted on the second and third floors of the building. I am awaiting the forensic report for more clarity on the incident," he added.

Although flames were not visible on Thursday morning, officials stated that the possibility of "pocket fires" (isolated pockets of smoldering fire inside the building) could not be ruled out. A fire department official mentioned that the fire was still smoldering in some areas inside the building and needed to be extinguished.