A fire at a government building in Kolkata destroyed around 4,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs), prompting authorities to investigate whether the incident was an act of sabotage, a state minister said on Thursday.
The EVMs, which had been used in 10 constituencies during this year’s West Bengal Assembly elections, were stored in the multi-storey building located in the Alipore area of south Kolkata, according to Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services Kaushik Chowdhury.
Chowdhury said preliminary observations suggested the blaze may not have been accidental and that investigators were examining all possible causes, including sabotage.
The fire broke out on Wednesday in the nine-storey government building, which also houses the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office and several other departments.
Authorities have registered a police complaint and launched an investigation. Forensic teams visited the site to collect evidence, although access to some of the damaged floors remained difficult due to residual heat from the fire, Chowdhury said.
The minister also raised questions about the spread of the blaze, stating that while the fire reportedly originated on the third floor, it appeared to have affected the seventh and eighth floors without causing comparable damage to the intervening levels.
The South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad is controlled by the ruling Trinamool Congress, and the district is considered a key political stronghold of the party.
Officials have not yet determined the cause of the fire, and investigations are ongoing.
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