Kolkata fire destroys 4,000 EVMs; sabotage allegations investigated

A significant fire broke out on June 10, 2026, at a nine-story government building in Kolkata's Alipore area, resulting in the destruction of approximately 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other government records. The building housed various government offices, including the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office and election-related departments. The destroyed EVMs had been used in at least 10 Assembly constituencies across Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, and South 24 Parganas during the recent West Bengal Assembly elections. The incident quickly drew attention and raised suspicions due to the peculiar manner in which the fire spread. State officials, including the Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services, Kaushik Chowdhury, noted that the fire initially appeared on the third and fourth floors but inexplicably reached the eighth and ninth floors, where the EVMs were stored, while leaving some intermediate floors (fifth, sixth, and seventh) relatively unaffected. This unusual pattern led to speculation of sabotage, prompting a thorough investigation. In response, the Kolkata Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident. An FIR was registered based on a complaint by the district's Additional District Magistrate, and a four-member SIT was formed to investigate the origin of the fire and the extent of the damage. Forensic experts were also called to examine the site and collect samples to determine the cause of the fire, whether accidental or deliberate. The Election Commission of India (ECI) confirmed that while over 3,000 EVMs were destroyed, the VVPAT slips, which are crucial for verification, remained unharmed as they were stored separately in the treasury. This assurance aimed to mitigate concerns about the potential impact on election petitions or recounts. Engineers from the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) and EC officials conducted individual examinations of the damaged EVMs. Around 1,000 EVMs, stored on the balcony side of the 10th floor, were found to be intact. The incident also ignited a political slugfest, with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) criticizing the Election Commission of India and raising questions about the security and storage of election equipment. The TMC alleged that the fire was a "calculated attempt to make crucial evidence vanish after tampering with Democracy itself" and questioned how such incidents could occur despite judicial interventions sought previously for the preservation of EVMs and CCTV footage. The party also pointed to the fact that the South 24 Parganas district is a stronghold of the TMC and that the Zilla Parishad is run by the party, adding a layer of political sensitivity. The opposition parties, including Congress, also sought answers from the Election Commission regarding the incident. Sources indicate that the fire broke out on June 10, 2026, around 9:50 AM. Firefighters battled the blaze for nearly 24 hours. The building housed offices of departments like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, District Forest Officer, and Mid-Day Meal scheme, in addition to the election-related departments. The affected EVMs were used in constituencies such as Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East and West, Metiaburuz, and Satgachia. As of the reporting date, the investigation is ongoing, with forensic findings expected to shed more light on the exact cause of the fire. The incident highlights concerns about the security and storage of critical election infrastructure. The Business Standard article, on which the original prompt was based, reported on this event, and the verification confirms the core claims.

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