Fire breaks out in Kolkata government building, 4,000 EVMs burnt: Minister says 10 seats were used in 10 seats, conspiracy suspected; TMC, AAP say - BJP should respond

In Kolkata, West Bengal, about 4,000 EVMs were burnt in a fire in a government building. These machines were used in 10 seats in the assembly elections held this year. After the incident, TM has questioned the Election Commission. At the same time, the Congress and the AAP have also demanded a reply from the government. The West Bengal Police has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate. The building houses several government offices, including the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad. It took about 24 hours to completely control the fire. West Bengal government minister Kaushik Choudhary said the fire did not appear to be normal. The apprehension of a conspiracy cannot be ruled out. An FIR has been registered and an investigation has been initiated. Sharing a video of the fire on X, the TMC wrote, "The Election Commission cannot always escape questions. The door of the court was first knocked on to secure the EVM and CCTV footage. Then how did such an incident happen? Was this just an accident or a deliberate attempt to destroy vital evidence?" The TMC claimed that the machines destroyed in the fire were associated with several assembly seats in Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East, Behala West, Matiaburuj, Satgachia and Diamond Harbour sub-divisions. "The government and the Election Commission should clarify how the fire broke out and how it reached the ninth and tenth floors. AAP said- What happened that such a massive fire broke out in a government building? How did the fire start, and how did thousands of EVMs get engulfed in this fire, should the BJP answer? West Bengal Minister of State for Fire and Disaster Management Kaushik Choudhary said the fire was first detected on the second and third floors. Then she went up to the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth floors. "How did the fire get to the top without causing further damage to the fourth, fifth and sixth floors?" he asked. It is being investigated whether there was any conspiracy behind it. There, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said that the apprehension of a conspiracy cannot be ruled out. BJP leader Rakesh Singh has termed it as a well-planned incident. However, no evidence has been made public in support of these claims so far. An FIR has been registered at the Alipore police station on the complaint of the South 24 Parganas administration. Police are investigating the cause of the fire. It is not yet clear whether the fire was caused by a short circuit or by some other reason. The forensic team will collect samples from the spot. The probe will also see if the fire was an accident or was set by someone intentionally.