The Bengaluru city police have filed a case against Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO, Ola, and several company officials following the alleged suicide of a 38-year-old employee who had accused senior management of workplace harassment in a death note.
The deceased, identified as K Aravind, was a resident of Chikkalasandra and worked as a homologation engineer at Ola Electric since 2022. He reportedly died by suicide on 28 September, while the case was officially registered on 6 October and came to light this week.
According to police, the FIR has been registered under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which pertains to abetment of suicide. Those named in the case include Bhavish Aggarwal and Subrat Kumar Dash, head of vehicle homologations and regulations at Ola Electric, among others.
The complaint was filed by Aravind’s elder brother, Ashwin Kannan, who stated that his brother left behind a 28-page death note alleging harassment by the management. The note reportedly mentioned that salaries and incentives were withheld, which led Aravind into depression. Two days after his death, Rs 17.46 lakh was credited to his bank account, raising further suspicion.
Ashwin alleged that company representatives visited the family and gave unclear explanations regarding the transaction, which he believed was an attempt to conceal information.
Police said the case was initially registered as an “unnatural death”. However, after reviewing the contents of the death note, a formal case of abetment of suicide was filed. The investigation is ongoing, and neither Aggarwal nor Dash have issued a public statement so far.
