Kolkata Police has launched a criminal investigation after detecting inconsistencies in how a fire spread through the New Administrative Building at Alipore on Wednesday. Senior fire department officials described the second phase of the blaze as unusual, prompting an on-site inspection by Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Kaushik Chowdhury on Thursday.
Fire Origin and Spread
The fire originated on the lower floors of the 10-storey South 24 Parganas District Council (Zilla Parishad) building. It mysteriously leaped to the top floors long after the primary fire was contained and the power supply was completely disconnected. This has raised concerns that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) stored on the 10th floor may have suffered damage.
A senior Election Commission official stated: “EVMs have been stored in the building. The fire may have caused some damage. We will have to inspect each EVM to assess the impact. The police are investigating the incident, and the district magistrate will submit a report to us.”
Initial Containment and Rekindling
The fire was initially spotted on the third floor, where the building’s NIC conference room and offices of Trinamool leaders Jahangir Khan (now in custody) and Bahirul Islam are located. The conference room was closed at the time. Fire officials reported that the blaze was brought under control by 11:40–11:50 am.
However, investigators are baffled that the flames rekindled on the 9th and 10th floors around 12:30 pm. Fire department sources said they were mystified how the fire spread from the fourth floor to the ninth and tenth floors without causing much damage to the sixth, seventh, and eighth floors.
Affected Areas and EVM Storage
The ninth floor houses the mid-day meal section, while the 10th floor contains the Alipore Sadar strong room, a maximum-security zone storing EVMs used in several high-profile assembly constituencies, including Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East, Behala West, Metiabruz, and Tollygunge.
Legal Action
A criminal case has been registered at Alipore Police Station under Sections 326(g) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), read with Section 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
