Grounding and ESD questions
If there is a connection between neutral and earth at the circuit breaker box or at at one of them or at the counter, it means that, in your area the neutral is using earth as a return path to the electric plant. So technically earth and neutral are tied together and should make no difference. Except that it does. Having neutral and earth tied somewhere in building is creating interference.
It's also not compatible with differential circuit breakers.
But I do hope that neutral going to earth is the legal way and not the result of a very bad installation by a non professional.
The first thing is to check with your electricity provider how the connection (Phases, neutral and earth) are supposed to be.
I strongly suggest you call them and explain your problem because there is a serious health hazard here.
Ideally having somebody form the electric company to come and check your installation and tell you what you have to do.
The next step will be to install decent yellow and green earth wires at as many plug and light appliances and other things as possible everywhere in the building.
And first of all, you need to dig an iron or copper bar deep into the earth to create a earth ground connection. Tying to the pipe is not as safe.
In fact it's the pipes that should be connected to earth for safety.
Then check all the supposed neutral wires if they are not connected to earth wires. If earth wires are absent totally, this is easier.
But if they run side by side in uncoloured wires (as it was in the old days of the Soviet era), or worse, with not matching colour (then I wish you good luck) then it can take a week or two to sort it out. It's a very big work.
But yes, it would be a VERY good idea to separate neutral and earth completely, down to the counter.
The charger blowing up and the related story is possibly because the two phases (assuming there are  three phases in your building) have been shortly in contact together. It created a voltage surge which destroys electrical devices.
In other words: Invest in the renovation of the electric installation of the building.