Ola Electric is under scrutiny following the tragic death of an employee, K Aravind, who died by suicide in Bengaluru last month. The case has drawn media attention and prompted police action involving CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and senior official Subrat Kumar Dash. Bengaluru police registered a case on October 6, 2025, naming Aggarwal, Das, and Ola Electric, acting on a complaint from Aravind’s brother. The core of the complaint revolves around allegations of workplace harassment and financial discrepancies, spurred by a 28-page note purportedly detailing stress and unpaid dues found at Aravind’s residence.
Aravind, a 38-year-old engineer in Ola Electric’s homologation department since 2022, allegedly consumed poison on September 28 and later died at Maharaja Agrasena Hospital. Initially treated as an unnatural death, the case was reclassified under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita as abetment of suicide. The family also pointed to a Rs 17.46 lakh transfer to Aravind’s account postmortem, raising suspicions. In response, Ola Electric filed a regulatory statement on October 21, conveying condolences and stating that Aravind had not formally reported any grievances regarding his employment.
The company clarified that it promptly processed his final settlement to support his family, emphasizing that Aravind’s role did not involve regular contact with top executives. Ola Electric also disclosed that they have legally contested the FIR in the Karnataka High Court, which has provided interim protection to its officials. They affirmed their commitment to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation. Further, Ola Electric asserted that since no chargesheet has been issued, the matter does not currently constitute a material event requiring disclosure per SEBI’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015.
The company has pledged to provide updates to the exchanges as legally mandated. This incident follows a similar case in May involving Nikhil Somwanshi, a machine learning engineer at Krutrim, Ola’s AI unit led by Bhavish Aggarwal, who also reportedly died by suicide. Ola stated that Somwanshi was on personal leave during that incident.
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