An elderly woman, residing alone in her Kasba residence, succumbed to burns after her clothing caught fire while she was conducting Shivratri Puja rituals at home on Sunday afternoon, police said.

The woman has been identified as 88-year-old Namita Roy. She had spoken to one of her two daughters over the phone a few minutes before she sat for the puja, the police said.

Roy lived alone in an apartment on the second floor of a five-storey building on Dharmatala Road at Prantik Pally in Kasba.

“The lady had suffered severe burns. Neighbours alerted the fire department about flames and fumes at Roy's house. She was taken to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries a few hours later,” said an officer of Kasba police station.

The officer said that it was currently challenging to determine the precise cause of the fire. Nevertheless, during the initial investigation, officers discovered that Roy had communicated with one of her daughters via phone just minutes before the incident.

“From her daughter, we learned that the elderly woman was about to sit for Shivratri Puja after she spoke to her. Hence, we are presuming that fire from an open lamp has caused the fire,” said the officer.

A forensic team will visit the spot to ascertain the exact cause of the fire.

Several incidents of fire have been reported in the city, where elderly persons, mostly women, have suffered burns either while offering puja or while cooking.

Last week, a 61-year-old woman, who suffered burns during the haldi ceremony of her daughter at the Parish Hall in St Paul’s Cathedral, succumbed to her injuries.

According to police, her sari caught fire from an earthen diya that was lit during the haldi ceremony.

In most instances, negligence was found to be the cause of the accidents, a senior police officer said.

“It is natural that elderly people’s reflex towards the fire and their ability to react if their apparel catches fire is less than that of younger people. Hence, they are more prone to fire accidents,” said another senior officer of the Kolkata Police.

Roy’s body has been sent for a postmortem.

An unnatural death case has been started with the Kasba police station.