Ola Electric Mobility founder Bhavish Aggarwal and other senior officials have been booked by the Bengaluru Police after an employee of the company died by suicide, accusing them of harassment, officials said on Monday.
The deceased, 38-year-old K Aravind, was working with Ola Electric as a Homologation Engineer in Koramangla since 2022.
Ola Electric has issued a statement following news of the FIR, saying that it has challenged the same at the Karnataka High Court.
What did the FIR say?
According to the Bengaluru police, Aravind’s brother, Ashwin Kannan, in a statement has alleged that the Ola techie had attempted suicide on September 28 at his apartment in Chikkalasandra. Upon this discovery, Aravind was immediately rushed to the Maharaja Agrasen Hospital but later succumbed to his injuries despite medical efforts.
A handwritten note spanning 28 pages was found from Aravind’s room. In the note, he accused his superiors of mental harassment, non-payment of salary and allowances. This allegedly led the Ola employee to die by suicide by consuming poison, according to the purported suicide note.
Citing the purported suicide note, Aravind’s brother omplained that Subrat Kumar Das, Head of Homologation Engineering, Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal, and other company officials had subjected Aarvind to “sustained workplace harassment and withheld his salary and dues, causing him severe distress”.
He also mentioned in the complaint that two days after Aravind’s death, on September 30, an amount of ₹17.46 lakh was transferred to his bank account through NEFT. The family described this transaction as “suspicious” and questioned company representatives who allegedly gave “unclear explanations”. The family further alleged that the representatives appeared to internal lapses.
Based on the complaint, cops on October 6 registered an FIR at the Subramanyapura police station against Subrat Kumar Das, Bhavish Aggarwal, and others under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Ola issues statement
In a statement, Ola said that Aravind during his three-year-tenure at Ola Electric had never raised a harassment complaint.
“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of our colleague, Aravind, and 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.”
During his tenure, Aravind never raised any complaint or grievance regarding his employment or any harassment
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,” it said.
The company further said that it had facilitated the full and final settlement to Aravind’s account to provide “immediate support” to his family, and “remains committed to maintaining a safe, respectful, and supportive workplace for all employees.”
Ola Electric goes to Karnataka HC
Ola Electric in its statement further said that it had moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the FIR.
“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,” it said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police said.
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