Kolkata: A massive fire at a government building in Kolkata has destroyed around 4,000 electronic voting machines (EVMs) that were reportedly used during the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, prompting a police investigation and forensic examination into the cause of the blaze.
The fire broke out on Wednesday at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office in Alipore. Officials said the EVMs were stored on the eighth and ninth floors of the building. Apart from the voting machines, several government offices were also damaged, including an office linked to the school midday meal programme.
No casualties were reported in the incident.
State Fire Minister Koushik Chowdhury said the pattern of the fire has raised questions. According to officials, the blaze largely affected the upper floors where the EVMs were stored, while some middle floors suffered comparatively less damage. The unusual spread of the fire has led investigators to examine the possibility of sabotage.
Police have launched an investigation and forensic teams have begun collecting evidence from the site to determine the exact cause of the fire.
The incident has also triggered a political debate. Congress leader Pawan Khera urged the Election Commission of India to clarify whether the destroyed EVMs had been used in the recently concluded West Bengal Assembly elections.
The @ECISVEEP must clarify whether these 4,000 EVMs were indeed used in the recent West Bengal elections. Otherwise, we can’t help but wonder whether this was truly an accidental fire or the same convenient and mysterious kind of blaze that, in Bollywood movies, always seems to… pic.twitter.com/ryGzf2KgGB
— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 ಪವನ್ ಖೇರಾ (@Pawankhera) June 12, 2026
In a post on X, Khera questioned whether the fire was accidental and called for greater transparency regarding the machines stored in the building.
The blaze comes weeks after the West Bengal Assembly election, which resulted in a major political shift in the state. Authorities have not yet released a final assessment of the losses caused by the fire.
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