Key facts
- A fire destroyed approximately 4,000 EVMs in a Kolkata government building.
- The fire occurred on Wednesday and took nearly 24 hours to control.
- The destroyed EVMs were used in 10 Assembly constituencies during recent state elections.
- West Bengal Minister Kaushik Chowdhury suspects foul play and awaits a forensic report.
- An FIR has been registered, and authorities are investigating all possible angles.
A massive fire erupted on Wednesday at a nine-storey government building in Kolkata's Alipore area, destroying approximately 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). The blaze, which engulfed parts of the structure housing several government offices, including the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office, took firefighters nearly 24 hours to bring under control.
State officials confirmed that the damaged EVMs had been used in 10 Assembly constituencies during the state's Assembly elections held earlier this year. Following an inspection of the site, West Bengal Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services, Kaushik Chowdhury, expressed suspicion that the fire might not have been a routine accident. He noted that the fire's spread pattern raised concerns, prompting an investigation into potential sabotage.