A major fire that broke out at a government building in Kolkata's Alipore area has destroyed around 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), West Bengal
Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services Kaushik Chowdhury said on Thursday. The fire started on Wednesday at the nine-storey building, which houses several government offices, including the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office. Firefighters continued their operations for nearly 24 hours after the blaze began. Questions Over Fire Spread After visiting the site, Chowdhury said the fire's pattern appeared unusual and raised questions about how it spread through the building. According to him, the fire was first spotted on the second and third floors. However, it later reached the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth floors while seemingly skipping the fourth, fifth and sixth floors. "It does not look like a normal fire. We are examining all possibilities, including whether there was any sabotage," the minister told reporters. He added that around 4,000 EVMs used during this year's assembly elections in 10 constituencies were destroyed in the incident. Authorities are waiting for a forensic examination to determine the exact cause of the fire. Experts are expected to inspect the building and collect samples from the site. Officials said it is still unclear whether the blaze was caused by an electrical fault or any other reason. Investigators have not reached any conclusion so far. Although visible flames were no longer seen on Thursday morning, fire officials said there could still be small fires burning inside parts of the building. "There are pocket fires inside the structure. Our teams are carrying out cooling operations to prevent the fire from reigniting," a fire department official said. FIR Registered, Police Begin Investigation The South 24 Parganas administration has filed a written complaint with the Alipore Police Station seeking a detailed investigation into the incident. The complaint was submitted by the district's Additional District Magistrate (ADM). Based on the complaint, police registered an FIR and started an investigation. The building has been sealed off, and access has been restricted while investigators examine how the fire spread across multiple floors. Security around the premises has also been increased. The incident has triggered political reactions, with Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar saying the possibility of sabotage should not be ruled out. BJP leader Rakesh Singh also alleged that the fire may have been planned. However, officials investigating the case stressed that no conclusions would be drawn until forensic and scientific evidence becomes available. Authorities are also assessing the damage caused to government records, infrastructure and security systems located inside the building.
