FIR against Ola founder Bhavish Aggarwal after employee dies by suicide, leaves 28-page note
K Aravind was working as a homologation engineer with Ola since 2022, police officials said. He consumed poison at his home in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on September 28, after which his friends rushed him to the hospital. Read on for more information on this subject.
Bhavish Aggarwal is the co-founder of Ola.
A 38-year-old engineer working at Ola Electric died by suicide, leaving behind a 28-page handwritten note accusing several company seniors of mental harassment and financial exploitation. He also named Ola co-founder and Ola Cabs chief executive officer (CEO) Bhavish Aggarwal in the note. Ola reacted to the incident and said that the engineer had never made any complaint or complaint regarding his work or the allegations of harassment.
K Aravind was working as a homologation engineer with Ola since 2022, police officials said. He drank poison at his home in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on September 28, after which his friends rushed him to the hospital. Aravind died the same day while receiving treatment. Shortly after Aravind’s death, his brother found the note sent to him. According to officials, the police have since filed an Unnatural Death Report (UDR).
In his death note, Aravind accused senior staffer Subrat Kumar Das and co-founder Aggarwal of workplace harassment and oppression. He said he was mentally tortured and deprived of his salary and allowances, which pushed him to end his life. Aravind’s brother said that two days after his death, suspicious wire transfers of more than Rs 17 lakh were made into his account. Das allegedly gave vague answers when asked about the transaction. Aravind’s brother lodged a complaint with the police, who filed a case against Aggarwal, Das and several others earlier this month. An investigation has been launched into Aravind’s allegations.
On Monday, nearly a month after Aravind’s demise, Ola issued a statement and condoled the death of Aravind. “We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate death of our colleague Aravind and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time,” the company said. The statement added: “During his tenure, Aravind raised no complaints or grievances regarding his employment or any harassment. Moreover, his role did not include any direct interaction with the senior management of the company, including the promoter.” Ola also said it has challenged the FIR against its founder and other employees in the Karnataka High Court.
