Siliguri – The Darjeeling district administration has issued a formal clarification following a fire at the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) office, confirming that all records related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll remain completely secure.
The incident, which occurred late Wednesday night, had initially triggered widespread concern regarding the safety of sensitive voter data being processed for the 2026 elections.
The fire broke out around 11:30 PM on Wednesday, January 7, at the Vivekananda Bhavan complex on Hill Cart Road. Smoke was first detected by security guards coming from Room No. 10 (the Magistrate’s room) on the third floor of the building.
Two fire engines from the Siliguri Fire Station arrived at the scene and brought the blaze under control within 30 minutes. While two rooms were affected and sustained damage to furniture, computers, and general office files, the administration has moved quickly to dispel rumors of a data catastrophe.
In a press statement released on Thursday, Darjeeling District Magistrate Manish Mishra clarified that the rooms affected by the fire were not being used to store SIR-related documents.
“A minor fire incident occurred in a section of the Siliguri SDO office late Wednesday night and was promptly controlled. The rooms affected did not house any Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral records. All SIR data is digitised and remains completely safe,” the statement read.
SDO Vikas Ruhela, who inspected the site immediately after the incident, reiterated that the fire would have no impact on the voter revision schedule. Officials noted that even in the event of physical damage, the digitalization of the SIR process ensures that all verified voter data is stored securely on cloud-based government servers.
Preliminary findings by fire department officials suggest a short circuit in a computer or printing machine as the likely cause of the blaze. A technical team is currently conducting a detailed audit of the room to confirm the exact origin.
While local political leaders, including MLA Shankar Ghosh, have called for a thorough investigation to rule out sabotage, the administration has urged the public to remain calm and attend scheduled voter verification hearings as per their original notices.
