Sharbari Dutta is survived by her fashion designer son Amalin Dutta.
Eminent fashion designer Sharbari Dutta was found dead under mysterious circumstances at her Kolkata residence, prompting the police to register a case of unnatural death and initiate a probe on Friday.
Ms Dutta, 63, was found dead in the bathroom of her residence on Broad Street in south Kolkata on Thursday midnight, a senior police officer said.
Her body, which bore injury marks on the ankle, has been sent for postmortem examination, he said.
Her only son Amalin Dutta, also a fashion designer, said their family physician had confirmed she died of massive cardiac arrest.
"Mother was not reachable on phone since Thursday morning but we thought she must have gone out for some work or there was some mobile network problem.
"However, when she did not call me in the evening, we anticipated something was wrong and went into her room. On not finding her there, we checked the bathroom and found her dead around 11.30 pm," Amalin Dutta said.
Amalin Dutta lives in another part of their multi-storey Broad Street residence and used to meet his mother over breakfast and dinner.
Sharbari Dutta, the daughter of Bengali poet Ajit Dutta, had made a mark in designing men's ethnic wear.
Her label became popular for a unique blend of ethnicity and modernity in fabric and vibrancy in colour.
She had draped personalities ranging from sportsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and singer-composer Anupam Roy, fashion industry sources said.
"I would like to ask the younger generation to flaunt their wear confidently. Don't mimic, be yourself. Films don't influence fashion statement," Ms Dutta had told PTI earlier.
Ms Dutta had established her brand ''Shunyaa'' with outlets in Kolkata. She had dabbled into women's wear and was a known face in fashion shows organised in the city.
Actors, models and singers expressed grief over her death.
"Sharbaridi had introduced new trends in men's wear and made it look ethnic, fashionable and yet contemporary," actor Prosenjit Chatterjee said, recalling he had first flaunted an attire designed by Dutta 20-22 years ago at a fashion event.
"She was a warm, affectionate and positive human being. It hurts to think she will not greet me at any event in the future,"Mr Chatterjee added.
Actor Rituparna Sengupta said Ms Dutta's death has shattered her.
"She had an ever-smiling face. She had designed my husband's ethnic wear which he proudly dons on special occasions," Ms Sengupta said.
Actor Sudiptaa Chakraborty said, "While I had worn her attire two-three times, I had the opportunity to have prolonged ''adda'' sessions with her multiple times. She was jovial and had a welcoming nature."
Ms Dutta's colleague in the fashion designing fraternity and BJP leader Agnimitra Paul posted on Facebook, "Didi your absence will be always felt. Wherever you are, stay well Sharbaridi. Om Shanti."
Designer Abhishek Dutta posted, "Really sad to hear about the untimely demise of Sharbari Datta...Rest in peace."
Singers Parama Banerjee and Ujjaini Mukherjee, actors Srabonty Chatterjee, Rukmini Moitra and Pujarini Ghosh and theatre personality-director Debesh Chatterjee also expressed grief and shock over Ms Dutta's death.
"RIP Sharbari Dutta. Gone too soon," one of the posts read.