Ola Electric clarifies on FIR against CEO and officials over employee’s death

Ola Electric Mobility Limited has responded to media reports and police proceedings connecting its chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal and another senior official Subrat Kumar Dash to the death of an employee, K Aravind, who died by suicide in Bengaluru last month.

According to media reports, the Bengaluru police registered a case on October 6, 2025, against Aggarwal, Das, and Ola Electric following a complaint filed by Aravind’s brother. The complaint alleged workplace harassment and financial irregularities after a 28-page handwritten note was recovered from Aravind’s residence, in which he reportedly mentioned instances of stress and non-payment of dues.

The 38-year-old engineer, who worked in Ola Electric’s homologation department since 2022, allegedly consumed poison on September 28 and later succumbed at Maharaja Agrasena Hospital. Police initially treated the incident as an unnatural death but later converted it into a case under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to abetment of suicide. The family also highlighted a transfer of Rs 17.46 lakh to Aravind’s account two days after his death, terming it suspicious.

In its regulatory filing on October 21, Ola Electric expressed condolences to the family and said Aravind had not raised any complaints about his employment or working conditions during his tenure. The company said it had immediately processed his final settlement to support the family and maintained that Aravind’s role did not involve direct engagement with the top management.

Ola Electric also stated that the FIR has been legally challenged before the Karnataka High Court, which has granted protective relief to its officials, and that it continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.

Ola Electric emphasized that no chargesheet has been filed so far and that the case does not qualify as a material event requiring disclosure under SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015. The company said it would provide further updates to the exchanges if required by law.

It’s worth noting that a similar incident surfaced in May, when Nikhil Somwanshi, a machine learning engineer at Krutrim, the artificial intelligence (AI) unit of Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola, reportedly died by suicide. In a statement, Ola said that he was on personal leave at the time of the incident.