A fire in a shanty along BT Road in north Calcutta killed a man early on Friday morning.

Police identified the dead as Anand Sagar Shaw, 48, a resident of 23/H/2 BT Road.

They said the fire started from his home and spread to three adjoining shanties.

Statements from neighbours suggested that Shaw might have set himself ablaze.

“The postmortem would reveal if he had set himself ablaze or if he became a victim of a fire that originated somewhere else in his house,” said an officer of Chitpore police station.

The blaze engulfed three other shanties. No one else was trapped or injured. Three fire tenders were pressed into action to douse the flames.

Fire department officials said forensic officials would visit the spot to collect samples.

The exact cause of the fire and the seat of the fire would be determined through the forensic examination, the fire department officials said.