A fire that broke out in the basement of the Election Commission (EC) head office in Dhaka has caused nearly Tk 38 million in property damage, a probe body estimates.
The panel suspected the fire was sparked by electric short-circuit.
On Thursday (Sept 12), the six-member probe panel led by EC Additional Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman filed its report on the fire to the EC Secretary Md Alamgir Hossain.
The flames also caused damage to as many as 59 control units of electronic voting machines (EVMs), 47 batteries, 789 ballot boxes, 1,233 monitors, 557 cables, a laptop, and two barcode scanners.
On Sunday (Sept 8), a fire broke out at the basement of the EC building where EVMs and other necessary equipment had been kept stored.
Twelve firefighting units from nearby fire stations, however, tamed the flames within two hours before it caused any further damage.
Following the incident, the EC formed a separate probe panel to find out the reason behind fire and assess the damage.
The panel reported to the EC on Thursday.
