 "Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric execs booked after employee's suicide")
The Bengaluru police have booked Old Electric chief Bhavish Aggarwal, along with other senior executives, in a suicide case of a 38-year-old employee, who had accused them of "harassment", the officials said on Monday.
The police identified the deceased as K Aravind, who had been working as a Homologation Engineer at Ola Electric in Koramangala since 2022.
What's the case?
The police said that Aravind’s brother, Ashwin Kannan, filed a complaint stating that Aravind had attempted suicide on September 28 at his Chikkalasandra apartment, following which he was rushed to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries, PTI reported.
The report added that a 28-page handwritten note from Aravind’s room was recovered, in which he allegedly blamed his superiors for mental harassment and the non-payment of salary and allowances, prompting him to ingest poison.
Based on the note, Ashwin alleged that Aravind had been subjected to “sustained workplace harassment” and denied his due salary and benefits by Subrat Kumar Das, Head of Homologation Engineering, Ola Electric founder Bhavish Aggarwal, and other company officials, which caused him extreme distress, PTI reported.
The complaint also noted that ₹17.46 lakh was credited to Aravind’s account two days after his death. When questioned about it, the company representatives allegedly gave unclear explanations and appeared to be attempting to cover up internal lapses, the complaint said.
Following the complaint, Subramanyapura police registered a case on October 6 against Subrat Kumar Das, Bhavish Aggarwal, and others under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Aravind never reported any grievances: Ola Electric
On Monday, Ola Electric responded to the FIR, stating that Aravind had never reported any grievances or harassment during his employment. The company added that his role did not involve direct interaction with top management, including the promoter.
The firm also said it has challenged the FIR in the Karnataka High Court, where protective orders have been granted in favour of Ola Electric and its officials.
"To provide immediate support to the family, the company said it promptly facilitated the full and final settlement to his bank account," the statement added. (With PTI inputs.)