The former secretary to an ex-Union minister died in a fire at his Keshtopur home early on Tuesday.
Sabyasachi Chakraborty, 42, lived alone. He was found in the bedroom on the ground floor of the building at AF-65 Rabindra Pally in Keshtopur, police said.
Residents of the neighbourhood spotted thick smoke coming out of the house early on Tuesday and alerted the fire brigade.
A fire tender doused the flames, and firefighters entered the flat — but it was too late.
“The door had to be broken open. Chakraborty was charred in the fire,” said an officer of Baguiati police station.
He was declared dead at a hospital. The body has been sent for post-mortem.
Chakraborty had been secretary to former Union minister Subhas Sarkar.
Sarkar said Chakraborty suffered from sleeping disorders and was unwell because of it. “I had told him to consult a doctor. He was such a good man, honest and sincere. It is difficult for me to believe this,” Sarkar told reporters.
Cops said what caused the fire that engulfed the house would be clear in the forensic report and the post-mortem. An unnatural death case has been initiated.
Chakraborty lived alone after his father's death. His brother lives with their mother in a building in the same area.