KOLKATA: A fire broke out at the office of the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) in Siliguri, West Bengal, on Thursday night while the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being carried out, according to sources in the state Fire Brigade department.
The fire was spotted after smoke was found billowing out of the SDO office at around 11.30 pm, amidst the ongoing SIR process.
Two fire fighting engines and policemen from the local Pradhanagar police station rushed to the spot soon after they were informed about the incident by SDO office employees, sources said.
The fire was brought under control within half an hour after the smoke was spotted.
Local officials in the Darjeeling district administration feared that huge volumes of documents related to the SIR process might have been damaged in the incident.
The reasons behind the fire have not yet been confirmed. Fire Brigade officials in Siliguri said a short circuit in the computer system might have been instrumental.