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Furloughed BA employee Dharmindera Kalyan died of alcohol intoxication and a fatty liver

AN investigation into the death of furloughed British Airways employee Dharmindera Kalyan, known as Darsi, has revealed that he died of alcohol intoxication and a fatty liver.

Darsi, who was customer service agent at BA, was found dead at his home in Maidenhead, Berkshire on July 16, by his pregnant wife Ella Kalyan, after having a drink with a meal the night before.


Assistant Berkshire coroner Alison McCormick opened the inquest on Wednesday(7).

She described the circumstances of Kalyan's death at the opening of his inquest in Reading.

Darsi had been furloughed from BA at the start of lockdown, and after four months away from work he was offered his old job for less pay.

"On July 15, he bought a bottle of alcohol from a local shop, had a drink with his dinner and went to bed at 9 that evening," said Alison McCormick, assistant Berkshire coroner.

However, she didn't offer any indication of how much alcohol he consumed.

"He had been bereaved in December 2019 and in the early parts of 2020 he was furloughed. This caused him significant stress. He did not seek any medical attention for the stress he was suffering from. In July, he was asked to re-apply for his job at a reduced pay rate," said McCormick.

"On July 16, at one point he rolled off the sofa and was observed to be on the floor and soon after that Ella, his wife, noticed that some features didn't look right about him and, unfortunately, he had passed away."

Ella's father, who sat in the inquest opening, told the coroner his daughter had just lost her dog in recent weeks too. The hearing was adjourned for a full inquest to take place at a later date.

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