Around 4,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were gutted after a government building in Kolkata’s Alipore area that houses the South 24 Parganas Zila Parishad office and district units of several other departments caught fire on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), said officials, flagging a possibility of sabotage.
Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services, Koushik Chowdhury, said, “The incident took place on Wednesday afternoon. It’s a nine-storey building in Alipore that houses the South 24 Parganas Zila Parishad, local District Forest Officer’s (DFO) office, and also the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. The EVMs were stored in a room on the ninth floor. All of those EVMs have been gutted.”
According to the minister, those EVMs have been used in at least 10 constituencies across Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas during the recent state assembly election.
Mr. Chowdhury, who went to visit the site, also flagged a possibility of sabotage. “Prima facie, the fire first broke out at the third and fourth floors. It is not yet clear how it reached the eighth and ninth floors while the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors were safe. It is not normal. The fire services personnel were also called pretty late. Police are investigating the matter. The district magistrate was also asked to launch a probe. They are trying to trace what exactly caused the fire.”
An officer from the Alipore police station also said that the additional district magistrate has lodged an FIR based on which a four-member special investigating team (SIT) was also formed to investigate the matter.
“A team of forensic experts was also appointed to examine the site. They have collected samples and sent to the laboratory. The reason of the fire can be traced once we get the report. It will also confirm whether the fire was accidental or the result of any deliberate act,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, the incident also sparked a political slugfest as the Trinamool Congress cornered the Election Commission of India for mismanagement.
In a post on X, All India Trinamool Congress wrote, “Mysteriously destroyed in fire. 4,000 Control Units. 4,000 Ballot Units. 4,000 VVPATs were linked to Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East, Behala West, Metiaburuz, Satgachia and multiple assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour sub-division. ECI cannot keep hiding behind planted narratives forever. Judicial intervention was previously sought to preserve EVMs and CCTV footage. Then how can such incidents happen?”
The statement further added: “Was this merely an accident…or a calculated attempt to make crucial evidence vanish after tampering with Democracy itself?”
Published - June 12, 2026 10:42 pm IST
Bengal / Kolkata / All India Trinamool Congress / bjp
Source: The Hindu - India News
