CHENNAI: A 68-year-old woman died of asphyxiation after her clothes caught fire during a puja at her house in Puzhal on Friday.
The deceased was identified as Shenbhagavalli, a resident of Mariamman Nagar in Kavangarai near Puzhal.She had been living alone at her residence, while her son worked in Dubai and her daughter lived in Tiruvallur.
According to police, Senbhagavalli’s children regularly monitored her through video calls and surveillance cameras installed at the house. On Friday, her son noticed smoke spreading inside the house through the surveillance footage and immediately alerted neighbours, asking them to check on her.
Neighbours rushed to the house and found smoke filling the premises. After breaking open the door, they discovered Senbhagavalli lying unconscious with burn injuries on her head and body. Police said her clothes had caught fire from a camphor lit during a puja.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Preliminary inquiries indicated that she died due to suffocation caused by smoke inhalation.
Based on information received, personnel from the Puzhal police station recovered the body and sent it to Stanley hospital for a post-mortem.