The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) has criticized the Election Commission of India (ECI) after a massive fire destroyed nearly 4,000 electronic devices stored in a government building in Kolkata. The party demanded a transparent investigation, questioning whether the incident was a deliberate attempt to “hide crucial evidence after manipulating democracy.”
The All India Trinamool Congress, in an official post on X, cast doubt on the timing and circumstances of the incident, terming the loss of crucial electoral equipment “mysterious”.
The post read: “Mysteriously destroyed by fire! 4,000 control units. 4,000 polling units. 4,000 VVPAT units. Connected to Kasba, Jadavpur, East Behalla, West Behalla, Metiyaproz, Satgachiya and multiple constituencies under Diamond Harbor sub-division.”
TMC also wrote that ECI cannot continue to hide behind planted narratives, stressing that judicial intervention had previously been requested to ensure the security of these machines.
“@ECISVEEP cannot continue to hide behind planted narratives forever. Judicial intervention has previously been sought to preserve EVMs and CCTV footage. How can such incidents happen?” Read this post
The party also questioned the safety of the event, asking: “Was this an accident… or a calculated attempt to hide crucial evidence after tampering with democracy itself?”
Earlier this week, Kolkata Police formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the fire incident that occurred at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office near Alipur Court, officials said on Friday (June 12).
According to Kolkata Police, a special investigation team has been formed to investigate the circumstances that led to the fire and ascertain its causes. We await further details regarding the composition of the team and the scope of the investigation.
On June 10, a fire broke out at the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office near Alipore Court in Kolkata, triggering an immediate emergency response. Many fire engines rushed to the scene to control the fire and prevent it from spreading to neighboring buildings.
An eyewitness stated that the fire broke out around 9:30 pm and quickly spread to the offices on the third floor. They pointed out that the smoke caused a state of panic among employees, but the fire services were able to control the situation before it worsened.
Speaking to ANI, eyewitness Shahnawaz said, “The fire broke out around 9:30 pm and quickly spread to the third floor, affecting several departmental offices inside. The staff working inside were in a state of panic when smoke filled the building. The fire services were able to control the situation before it escalated further.” (that I)
