Kolkata Police Forms SIT To Probe Fire That Destroyed 4,000 EVMs Stored
SIT probes Kolkata fire that destroyed 4,000 EVMs
The Kolkata Police has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe a major fire incident at a government building in the Alipore area, where around 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were reportedly destroyed, triggering administrative concern and political scrutiny over how the blaze spread through multiple floors.
A senior police officer confirmed that a four-member SIT has been formed to investigate the circumstances surrounding the fire that broke out on Wednesday at the South 24 Parganas zilla parishad administrative building. Officials said the investigation is focused on determining the origin of the fire and how it escalated to upper floors where the EVMs were stored.
Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services Kaushik Chandar raised questions over the spread of the blaze, noting that preliminary observations suggest the fire began on the third or fourth floor but somehow reached the eighth and ninth floors, where the voting machines were kept. He pointed out that intermediate floors remained largely unaffected, raising concerns that investigators will examine in detail.
According to officials, the EVMs destroyed in the fire were stored on the eighth and ninth floors and belonged to multiple assembly constituencies. The damaged machines were part of government-held electoral infrastructure, making the incident significant from both administrative and logistical perspectives.
Fire department personnel said the blaze was first reported around 9.50 am and quickly spread through parts of the multi-storey building that houses several government departments. Around 10 fire tenders were deployed to bring the flames under control after an intense operation lasting several hours. Officials also said the heat inside the structure remained extremely high even after the fire was doused, delaying forensic inspection of key floors.
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Forensic teams were eventually able to collect preliminary samples, but officials confirmed that access to the most affected areas remained restricted due to unsafe conditions. Investigators are expected to return for a detailed examination once the structure stabilises and temperatures inside the building reduce. The incident has also drawn political attention, as the South 24 Parganas district is administratively significant and politically sensitive.
Authorities have stated that the SIT will now examine all possible angles, including electrical faults, procedural lapses in storage, and any external factors that may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire. Officials have stressed that it is too early to determine the exact cause, and the SIT’s findings will be crucial in establishing accountability and assessing the extent of damage to electoral infrastructure stored in the building.
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