Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, top aide booked in employee suicide case

Ola Electric’s chief executive Bhavish Aggarwal and senior official Subrata Kumar Das have been booked by Bengaluru police for alleged abetment of suicide and mental harassment following the death of a company engineer, according to multiple media reports. The firm has denied all allegations and sought legal relief from the Karnataka High Court.

A first information report (FIR) was registered on 26 October at Subramanyapura Police Station, based on a complaint filed by the family of the deceased, a 38-year-old employee of Ola Electric’s Homologation Engineering Division. The family alleged they found a 28-page suicide note at his residence, naming Aggarwal and Das and accusing them of harassment and excessive workplace pressure, the Hindustan Times reported.

The employee was found dead on 28 September under what police initially recorded as an unnatural death.

Investigators reopened the case after the suicide note surfaced and the family raised concerns over a payment of ₹17.46 lakh credited to the deceased’s account two days after his death. The family reportedly received “unsatisfactory” explanations from the company about the transaction, which deepened suspicion over the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Inspector M Raju of Subramanyapura Police told Hindustan Times that the FIR was filed under provisions related to abetment of suicide and mental harassment. “The accused approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the FIR, claiming there was no truth in it. The court directed us not to take coercive action until further orders,” Raju said, adding that notices had been served to the accused.

The suicide note allegedly described extreme workplace stress, withheld pay and benefits, and repeated humiliation by senior officials. The police are expected to question several company executives as part of the ongoing investigation.

Ola Electric, in a statement cited by The Indian Express and Economic Times, said it was “deeply saddened” by the employee’s death and extended condolences to his family. The company maintained that the engineer had never raised any grievance regarding harassment during his three-and-a-half-year tenure and that his role did not involve direct interaction with the top management.

The company also said it had “promptly facilitated the full and final settlement” of dues to the employee’s family and was “fully cooperating with the authorities.” Ola confirmed that it had filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging the FIR and had secured interim protection orders for its executives.

The police investigation continues amid wider scrutiny of work culture in India’s fast-growing electric mobility and technology start-up ecosystem, where issues of burnout and pressure have surfaced repeatedly in recent years. Legal experts say the outcome of this case could influence how workplace accountability is interpreted under India’s new penal codes governing mental harassment and abetment of suicide.