A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted by Kolkata Police to probe the major fire incident in Alipore.
The four-member team comprises Assistant Commissioner of Police Sukhendu Mukhopadhyay, along with Inspector Hirak Dalapati, Inspector Arpan Das, and Sub-Inspector Suman Ghosh from the Detective Department of the Kolkata Police. The SIT commenced its investigation on Friday, June 12.
Kunal Agarwal, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), stated that the collection of samples is currently underway, with personnel from the District Magistrate’s office also present.
This comes after the Forest Minister earlier announced a high-level inquiry in the matter. The SIT’s investigation has been initiated based on that directive.
🎥 | Around 4,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were destroyed in a fire that broke out at a government building in Kolkata.#Kolkata #EVM #WestBengal #TheStatesman pic.twitter.com/07SWAm0VBh
— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) June 12, 2026
West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury had on Thursday said that nearly 4,000 EVMs were gutted in a government building fire. Chowdhury added that the state police has launched an investigation after the registration of an FIR in connection with the incident.
The fire broke out on Wednesday at the nine-storey building in south Kolkata’s Alipore area. Notably, the building also housed the South 24 Parganas Zilla Parishad office, besides other departments.
“Around 4,000 EVMs were destroyed in the fire. Those EVMs were used in 10 constituencies during this year’s Assembly elections in the state,” PTI quoted the Minister of State for Fire and Emergency Services as saying.
Chowdhury added, “It does not appear to be a normal fire. We are examining whether there was any sabotage. It is still not clear how the fire reached the ninth and tenth floors.”
He further informed that the fire was first noticed on the second and third floors of the building. “How did it reach the seventh and eighth floors without affecting the fourth, fifth and sixth floors? The entire matter is under investigation,” the minister said.