“Tampering with Democracy”: TMC targets ECI over ‘mysterious’ fire that gutted ‘4,000 EVMs’ in Kolkata
The All India Trinamool Congress, in an official post published on X, cast doubt on the timing and circumstances of the incident and described the loss of critical election equipment as “mysterious”.
The post read: “MYSTERIOUSLY DESTROYED IN FIRE! 4,000 Control Units. 4,000 Ballot Box Units. 4,000 VVPATs. Associated with Kasba, Jadavpur, Behala East, Behala West, Metiaburuz, Satgachia and multi-council constituencies under Diamond Harbor subdivision.
TMC also wrote that ECI cannot continue to hide behind fabricated narratives and emphasized that judicial intervention has already been sought to ensure the security of these machines.
“@ECISVEEP cannot hide behind fabricated narratives forever. There have been attempts to intervene in the judiciary to protect EVMs and CCTV footage before. So how can such incidents happen?” text read
The party also questioned the integrity of the incident, asking: “Was this just an accident… or was it a calculated attempt to suppress important evidence after Democracy itself was tampered with?”
Earlier this week, Kolkata Police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire incident at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office near Alipore Court, officials said on Friday (June 12). According to Kolkata Police, the SIT was formed to investigate the circumstances leading to the fire and ascertain its cause. More details about the composition of the team and the scope of the investigation are awaited.
On June 10, a fire broke out at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office near Alipore Court in Kolkata, prompting an immediate emergency response. A large number of fire brigades were dispatched to the scene to control the flames and prevent the fire from spreading to surrounding buildings.
An eyewitness stated that the fire, which broke out around 21.30, quickly spread to the offices on the third floor. They noted that the smoke caused panic among the staff, but fire crews managed to bring the situation under control before it got worse.
Speaking to ANI, eyewitness Shahnawaz said, “The fire broke out around 9.30 pm and quickly spread to the third floor, affecting many departments inside. The staff working inside were in panic when the smoke filled the building. Fire crews managed to bring the situation under control before the incident escalated further.”
