West Bengal: Thousands Of EVMs Used In Recent Polls Destroyed By Massive Fire

Kolkata: Over 4,000 EVMs used in recent assembly elections in West Bengal destroyed by fire. Amid the political turmoil caused by the fracturing of the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, a shocking incident has come to light in Kolkata.

Approximately 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in a fire at a building in the Alipore area of ​​Kolkata. 

How did authorities respond? 

Fire service personnel spent nearly 24 hours battling the blaze. Suvendu Adhikari and Minister Sujit Bose (referred to as Kaushik Chowdhury in the source text) have expressed suspicion regarding the incident. It was reported on Thursday that around 4,000 EVMs were reduced to ashes in the fire at the government building. The police have initiated an investigation following the registration of an FIR regarding the incident.

Were the EVMs used in Assembly Elections? 

According to reports, a massive fire broke out on Wednesday in a nine-story building in the Alipore area of ​​South Kolkata. Apart from other departments, the building housed the office of the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad. Sujit Bose, the Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services in the Bengal government, stated that about 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. These EVMs had been used in 10 constituencies during the state assembly elections held earlier this year.
What did the Minister say? 
According to PTI, after visiting the site, Bose remarked that this did not appear to be an ordinary fire. "We are investigating whether there was any sabotage," he said. It remains unclear how the fire spread to the ninth and tenth floors. He noted that the fire was first spotted on the second and third floors of the building. Bose added that he is awaiting the forensic report for more clarity on the incident.

Is the Cooling Process underway? 

Meanwhile, fire service personnel worked for nearly 24 hours to extinguish the blaze. Although flames were not visible on Thursday morning, officials stated that the possibility of "pocket fires" (isolated pockets of smoldering fire inside the building) could not be ruled out. A fire department official mentioned that the fire was still smoldering in some areas inside the building and needed to be extinguished; the cooling process is currently underway.