A 70-year-old bedridden man suffered fatal burns after a fire broke out in his house in Behala’s Sarsuna on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Kartik Das, 70, lived in a one-room home on Talpukur Road.
The fire broke out around 2pm. He was taken to SSKM Hospital, where he died around 6.05pm, the police said.
“Das was a paraplegic person and remained largely confined to bed. We are yet to ascertain how the fire started and how Das suffered the fatal burns,” said an officer at Sarsuna police station.
The city has witnessed many incidents of senior citizens suffering burns, especially while praying or cooking. Some of them died.
The police said a forensic team will visit Das’s house to collect samples.
“The room has an air conditioner, which was running when the fire started,” the officer said.
The police have sought an opinion from CESC on the possible cause of the fire.
On January 16, an 80-year-old woman in Behala died of burns. Chobi Majumder’s clothes were suspected to have caught fire while she was performing puja at her home in Parnasree’s Shyam Sundar Pally.
On January 24, an elderly woman in Behala died of burns after her quilt caught fire, apparently from a room heater.