The Bengaluru Police booked Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and several others on Monday for abetting the suicide of an employee. The victim — identified as engineer K Aravind — had left a lengthy 28-page suicide note accusing the top management of harassment. Family members allege that Ola made a Rs 17 lakh bank transfer soon after his death to ‘cover up financial irregularities’.
According to reports, the late employee had left behind a 28-page note addressed to his brother before committing suicide. The police had registered it as an unnatural death in early October before the note and other details led to a case against Aggarwal, Subrat Kumar Dash (the head of vehicle homologations and regulations), and several others. . An NDTV report added that the note had accused Subrat Kumar Das and Bhavish Aggarwal of workplace harassment and pressure.
The Ola management had allegedly tortured the late employee — withholding his salary and allowances, and putting him under pressure. The note also accused them of deliberately tarnishing his reputation. K Aravind had joined Ola Electric as a homologation engineer in 2022 and worked there till his death on September 28.
His brother told the publication that a suspicious bank transfer Rs 17,46,313 was made to his account via NEFT two days after Aravind died. Das had reportedly given vague responses when approached for clarification. Three representatives of the company had also reportedly visited Aravind’s residence but did not provide any consistent information regarding the financial transfer — raising doubts among his family members about the company’s intentions. His brother Ashwin Kannan had subsequently filed a complaint alleging that the company made the transfer to cover up financial irregularities and was trying to frame his brother to hide their own mistakes.
Ola pushes back against FIR
The company said it was “deeply saddened” by the incident and confirmed that Aravind had been working with Ola Electric for more than three and a half years. A spokesperson however denied direct interaction between the engineer and top management during his tenure. Ola also said that it was ” fully cooperating with the authorities in their ongoing investigation and remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and supportive workplace for all employees”.
“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 favor of Ola Electric and its officials,” a spokesperson told Financial Express.
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