Bengal: Thousands Of EVMs Destroyed In Alipore Blaze; Report Being Sent To EC
“It does not appear to be a normal fire. We are examining whether there was any sabotage. It is still not clear how the fire reached the ninth and tenth floors”: West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury
HYDERABAD: Around 4,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in nearly 10 constituencies of South Bengal in the recent Assembly elections were destroyed in the fire that engulfed a government building in Alipore, triggering political controversy and demand for a detailed probe.
According to sources, the fire gutted nearly 4,000 ballot units, 4,000 control units, and 4,000 VVPAT machines reportedly belonging to key constituencies, including Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala Purba, Behala Paschim, Metiaburuz, Satgachia and Diamond Harbour. Of these, the Trinamul Congress (TMC) had two and the BJP three.
West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury, after visiting the site on Thursday, said the EVMs had been used in the recent elections. “It does not appear to be a normal fire. We are examining whether there was any sabotage. It is still not clear how the fire reached the ninth and tenth floors,” he said.
Kasba was won by the TMC’s Ahmed Javed Khan, while Metiaburuz elected TMC’s Abdul Khaleque Molla, and Diamond Harbour returned TMC’s Panna Lal Halder. The BJP made major gains in south Kolkata by winning Jadavpur through Sarbari Mukherjee, Behala Purba through Sankar Sikder and Behala Paschim through Dr Indranil Khan.
Additional chief electoral officer Arindam Niyogi visited the site on Friday along with a forensic team. A preliminary report is being prepared and will be submitted to the Election Commission.
The controversy intensified after Congress leader Pawan Khera questioned the circumstances surrounding the fire. In a social media post, he asked whether the destroyed EVMs had been used in the recent Assembly elections and said the incident resembled the “convenient fires” in Bollywood films that destroy crucial evidence at critical moments.
CPM leader Bikashranjan Bhattacharya said the fire warranted a thorough investigation, calling it “mysterious” and alleging that Bengal’s political drama is deepening while people are being misled. He questioned how such a crucial government building could be gutted by fire and demanded answers on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The nature of the blaze has further deepened the mystery. The fire reportedly originated on the fourth and fifth floors before spreading to the ninth and tenth floors, while the sixth, seventh and eighth floors remained largely untouched. Investigators suspect the flames may have travelled through stairwells.
The fire also severely damaged the offices of the zilla parishad and the additional district magistrate. Significantly, the offices of Trinamul Congress leaders Jahangir Khan and Shawkat Molla, both currently in police custody and facing multiple investigations, were reduced to ashes.
