Kolkata: A massive fire that broke out in a government building located in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, has increased concern in the administration and political circles. According to a state government minister, around 4,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) were destroyed in this accident. After the incident, the police have registered a case and started investigation, while the help of forensic experts is being taken to find out the actual cause of the fire.
Damage to equipment and documents
This fire broke out on Wednesday in a nine-storey government building located in Alipore area of South Kolkata. Many government offices operate in this building, including the office of South 24 Parganas District Council. The fire spread so fast that several floors were affected and important equipment and documents kept inside the building were damaged.
Around 4000 EVMs used in recent West Bengal elections destroyed due to massive fire stored in Govt building in Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal
Obviously BJP and Election Commission will call it just an accident and close the case.
Are we really living in Constitutional Democracy?… pic.twitter.com/GGMnnI5Kuy
— Veena Jain (@Vtxt21) June 12, 2026
State Fire and Emergency Services Minister Kaushik Chaudhary, after inspecting the spot, said that about 4,000 EVM machines were destroyed in the fire. According to him, these machines were used in 10 constituencies of the state during the recently concluded assembly elections. The minister said that looking at the initial circumstances, this case does not seem like a normal arson and the possibility of sabotage has also been kept under investigation.
He also said that the fire was first seen on the second and third floors of the building, but later it reached the seventh, eighth and upper floors. Surprisingly, some of the middle floors were relatively less affected, which has raised many questions about the way the fire spread. For this reason, the administration is investigating the entire incident in depth.
Fire department teams remained present on the spot even after about 24 hours of the fire. Although large flames were not visible till Thursday morning, there was burning fire and heat at many places inside the building. According to officials, the cooling process was continued to prevent the possibility of fire breaking out again.
Written complaint lodged in Alipur police station
South 24 Parganas administration has lodged a written complaint at Alipur police station demanding investigation into this incident. After this the police registered an FIR and started investigating the case. Investigating agencies are trying to find out whether the fire occurred due to some technical fault, especially short circuit, or there was some other reason behind it.
At present the building has been sealed and entry of common people has been banned. Forensic experts are collecting samples from the spot, whose report will play an important role in revealing whether it was an accident or the result of a planned conspiracy. Meanwhile, political rhetoric regarding the incident has also intensified. However, the investigating agencies say that the final conclusion will be drawn only on the basis of scientific evidence and forensic reports.
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