‘Will fight it out’: Brother of Ola Electric engineer who died by suicide says he spoke about workplace issues

While a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged on September 30, the police registered a case only on October 6, naming Subrat Kumar Dash, head of Ola Electric’s Vehicle Homologations and Regulations section, and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and others under Section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). This is the second case of suicide involving an Ola employee in Bengaluru this year.

‘Did not know it would go to this extent’

Speaking to The Indian Express, Ashwin, 41, said, “My brother generally shared about the toxic work culture at Ola Electric and the kind of pressure employees suffered. But we did not know that it would go to the extent where he would take his life. I will fight it out, whatever may come.”

Aravind, a graduate of Dayanand Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru, lived with his parents in an apartment in Chikkalasandra.

According to Ashwin, who runs a business, his brother occasionally discussed the work pressure he faced, especially after the suicide of Nikhil Somwanshi, 25, in May. A native of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, Somwanshi worked as a machine learning engineer at Krutrim, Ola’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) unit. Nikhil died on May 7, but the matter only came to light on May 17 after an anonymous Reddit user claimed that his death was linked to “work pressure.” Later, other Reddit users too questioned why the issue was not highlighted properly.

Ashwin said his brother drew a salary of Rs 2 lakh per month. “But I heard that there were some payment issues. The payment that was credited to Aravind’s account (after his death)…the company representatives who visited our house said that some of the money was from 2024,” he added. In the FIR, Ashwin had stated that Rs 17.4 lakh had been transferred to Aravind’s account two days after his demise. This was done without any explanation, which led him to suspect that something was amiss.

“On the day he died, my brother ordered lunch for my parents through Swiggy around 10 am. When my parents asked why he had placed the order so early, he just said that it would not be an issue to order. Later that day, he killed himself,” Ashwin said.

Aravind never raised complaint: Ola Electric issues statement

In a statement issued on Monday, a spokesperson for Ola Electric said that the firm was “deeply saddened” by Aravind’s unfortunate demise. “Our thoughts remain with his family during this difficult time. Aravind had been associated with Ola Electric for over three and a half years and was based at our headquarters in Bangalore,” it stated.

“During his tenure, Aravind never raised any complaint or grievance regarding his employment or any harassment. His role also did not involve any direct interaction with the company’s top management, including the promoter. We have challenged the registration of the FIR before the Honble Karnataka High Court and protective orders have been passed in favour of Ola Electric and its officials,” the statement added.

Last week, the Karnataka High Court directed the police not to harass Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and other company officials during its investigation into the case.

Regarding the amount credited to Aravind’s account after his death, the statement read, “In order to provide immediate support to the family, the company promptly facilitated the full and final settlement to his bank account. Ola Electric is fully cooperating with the authorities in their ongoing investigation and remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and supportive workplace for all employees.”

Allegations on social media

Since Aravind’s death, much has been discussed about the work environment at Ola Electric with many on social media raising allegations of a hostile culture.

On Glassdoor.co.in, a portal where current and former employees can anonymously share insights about their workplaces, Ola Electric has 2.6 ratings out of 5. Most of the users have responded positively, stating that it is a good place to earn well and has learning potential.

However, many reviews have also stated that there is no work-life balance due to random requests from the office, and employees being asked to work late at night and then resume duty early the next morning.