Kolkata: A preliminary report submitted to the Election Commission (EC) suggesting that some Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) could have been damaged in the fire at the New Administrative Building in Alipore prompted the state to form a four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday. Several floors of the 10-storey building were ravaged in the blaze that broke out on Wednesday.
"In the preliminary report, the District Magistrate (DM) has stated that some EVMs could have been damaged in the incident. But the extent of the damage is yet to be determined," said a senior EC official.
Formation of SIT and Forensic Investigation
The announcement of the SIT came within hours of a forensic team accessing the entire building and collecting crucial evidence, especially from the third and fourth floors, where the fire started, and the ninth and 10th floors, where another fire reportedly broke out around 12:30 pm on Wednesday, around an hour after the first one was brought under control. The EVM strongroom is located on the 10th floor. An official pointed out that by the time the second fire broke out, electricity supply to the entire building was snapped.
An EC official said around 3,000 EVMs were kept in the New Administrative Building. Those machines were used at polling booths in Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East, Behala West and several constituencies under the Diamond Harbour subdivision in the recent Assembly election. Minister of State (Fire) Kaushik Chowdhury on Thursday expressed fears of large-scale damage to EVMs of 10 Assembly segments stored on the building's 10th floor.
Police and forensic teams are currently collecting samples from the site. Once that process is completed, EC engineers will examine each EVM individually to assess the impact of the fire. Police said an inspection of the building on Friday showed the fire affected the eastern side of the four damaged floors. The western side, where the district magistrate's office is located, is largely unharmed.
Composition of the SIT
The SIT will be led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and will have officers from the Detective Department (DD) and the South Division. Among the officers who have been selected for the SIT are Sukhendu Mukhopadhyay, ACP (South Division), Inspector Hirak Dalapati from DD, who has long years of experience serving in this division, Inspector Arpan Das of DD, and Sub-Inspector Suman Ghosh from the Alipore Police Station.
EC Rules and Potential Complications
Under EC rules, after the election results are declared, ballot units (BUs) and control units (CUs) are sealed in their carrying cases in the presence of candidates or their representatives. VVPAT slips are removed from the VVPAT machines and sealed separately in black envelopes. The BUs, CUs, VVPAT slips and other election materials are then stored in strongrooms under the custody of the district election officer concerned until the 45-day deadline for filing election petitions expires. If an election petition is filed before the high court, the units concerned are preserved until the final disposal of the case.
"The Assembly election results were declared on May 4, and the 45-day period is yet to end. If any EVM is damaged in the fire, the situation could turn complicated," an EC official said.
Questions About Four Individuals
Questions are being raised about the possible involvement of four persons who left the building before office hours on Wednesday. But a police officer said, "Initial questioning of those four did not reveal anything particularly suspicious. One was a painter who came down from the roof using a rope. Two were sweepers who clean the rooms before office hours. When they tried to come down by the stairs, firefighters told them to go back up to the roof. The fourth person was stranded on the seventh floor. Although that floor had not caught fire, the stairwell was ablaze. A staff member of the New Administrative Building, Sahabuddin Molla, fell ill."
