Bengaluru Police Files FIR Against Ola Electric Founder Bhavish Aggarwal After Firm's Employee Dies by Suicide

Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal and other senior officials at the company have been booked by the Bengaluru Police after an employee at the firm died by suicide after accusing the company of harassment, officials said on Monday.

The deceased, identified as 38-year-old K Aravind was employed at Ola Electric since 2022 as a Homologation Engineer and was stationed in Koramangla.

However, following the news of the FIR, the firm has issued a statement saying that it has challenged the same at the Karnataka High Court.

What the FIR Says?

The Bengaluru police has said that in an official statement, Aravind's brother, Ashwin Kannan has alleged that the Ola techie had attempted suicide on September 28 at his apartment in Chikkalasandra. Upon discovery, he was rushed immediately to the hospital but despite medical efforts, later succumbed to his injuries.

Following that, a 28-page handwritten note was found from Aravind's room. He accused his superiors of mental harassment, non-payment of salary and allowances in his note, which allegedly led the Ola employee to commit suicide by consuming poison, the note stated.

Citing the suicide note, the deceased’s brother complained that Subrat Kumar Das, Head of Homologation Engineering, Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal Q2`and other company officials had subjected Aarvind to “sustained workplace harassment and withheld his salary and dues, causing him severe distress”.

In the complaint, he also stated 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 has termed this transaction as “suspicious” and has questioned the representatives at the company who allegedly gave “unclear explanations”. Additionally, the family alleged that the representatives appeared to internal lapses.

On the basis of the complaint, the police registered an FIR October 6 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.

What Ola Said?

The company released a statement after the news of the FIR saying that during his three-year tenure at Ola Electric, Aravind had never raised a harassment complaint.

It further stated, “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. “His role also did not involve any direct interaction with the company’s top management, including the promoter,” it mentioned.

In addition to that, the firm 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.”