Milton Keynes businessman dies of Covid Indian variant at the age of 39

A Milton Keynes businessman has reportedly died of the Indian Covid variant while in coronavirus-ravaged country, aged just 39.

A £50,000 fundraiser has been launched to help the family of Vinod Kalugotla

Already more than £19,000 has been donated in just 24 hours in memory of 39-year-old Vinod Kalugotla, whose death has shocked family, friends and colleagues all over MK.

Vinod worked for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) but had formerly spent 14 years at Santander as a senior test analyst.

He had gone to Bangalore in India to look after his widowed mother, who lost her 41-year-old daughter to Covid in February. But sadly the mum caught Covid herself three months later.

"She breathed her last in the arms of Vinod," said the organiser of the fundraiser Siddharth Ceekal. Two days later Vinod's aunt became another victim of the infection, which has killed more than 300,000 people in India.

On May 21, exactly a week after the death of his mum, Vinod himself died.

"He was a true warrior because even during his last days he continued his battle against Covid," said Siddharth.

Vinod leaves his wife Gayathri and their son Rishi, who is nine.

Siddarth said: "It hurts my heart to see Vinod been taken away from this world at such a young age. He was such a friendly, helping, sociable and likeable person.

"He was very active member of the MK community and done lots of services to the needy. He was very passionate about photography and used to volunteer to take photos at many events, including birthday events, cultural events, baby showers, etc, and through his passion for photography he has captured some of the best memories for many families in Milton Keynes.

"It really breaks my heart to hear that his entire family members – Vinod’s sister, Vinod’s mother, Vinod’s aunt, and Vinod all four – lost their lives within a span of few months.

"I am creating this GoFundMe page to raise some money to support his wife and son.. Although this contribution unfortunately won't bring my friend back to life, at least it could help their family.

You can view the fundraiser here