Ashwin Kannan, the brother of Aravind Ok, the Ola Electrical engineer who killed himself final month alleging office harassment, stated the 38-year-old had opened as much as him in regards to the poisonous work tradition on the EV manufacturing firm. “It seems to be like he had already determined to kill himself as he had positioned an early lunch order for our mother and father on the day he died,” Ashwin stated, recalling the fateful day.
On September 28, Aravind Ok, a homologation engineer at Ola Electrical since 2022, died by suicide, forsaking a 28-page dying notice during which he raised allegations of harassment and poisonous work tradition on the agency.
Whereas a First Data Report (FIR) was lodged on September 30, the police registered a case solely on October 6, naming Subrat Kumar Sprint, head of Ola Electrical’s Automobile Homologations and Laws part, and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and others underneath Part 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). That is the second case of suicide involving an Ola worker in Bengaluru this 12 months.
‘Didn’t know it could go to this extent’
Talking to The Indian Categorical, Ashwin, 41, stated, “My brother usually shared in regards to the poisonous work tradition at Ola Electrical and the sort of strain staff suffered. However we didn’t know that it could go to the extent the place he would take his life. I’ll struggle it out, no matter could come.”
Aravind, a graduate of Dayanand Sagar Faculty of Engineering in Bengaluru, lived along with his mother and father in an condo in Chikkalasandra.
In line with Ashwin, who runs a enterprise, his brother often mentioned the work strain he confronted, particularly after the suicide of Nikhil Somwanshi, 25, in Might. A local of Maharashtra’s Jalgaon, Somwanshi labored as a machine studying engineer at Krutrim, Ola’s Synthetic Intelligence (AI) unit. Nikhil died on Might 7, however the matter solely got here to mild on Might 17 after an nameless Reddit person claimed that his dying was linked to “work strain.” Later, different Reddit customers too questioned why the problem was not highlighted correctly.
Ashwin stated his brother drew a wage of Rs 2 lakh per thirty days. “However I heard that there have been some cost points. The cost that was credited to Aravind’s account (after his dying)…the corporate representatives who visited our home stated that among the cash was from 2024,” he added. Within the FIR, Ashwin had said that Rs 17.4 lakh had been transferred to Aravind’s account two days after his demise. This was completed with none rationalization, which led him to suspect that one thing was amiss.
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“On the day he died, my brother ordered lunch for my mother and father by Swiggy round 10 am. When my mother and father requested why he had positioned the order so early, he simply stated that it could not be a difficulty to order. Later that day, he killed himself,” Ashwin stated.
Aravind by no means raised criticism: Ola Electrical points assertion
In a press release issued on Monday, a spokesperson for Ola Electrical stated that the agency was “deeply saddened” by Aravind’s unlucky demise. “Our ideas stay along with his household throughout this tough time. Aravind had been related to Ola Electrical for over three and a half years and was primarily based at our headquarters in Bangalore,” it said.
“Throughout his tenure, Aravind by no means raised any criticism or grievance concerning his employment or any harassment. His function additionally didn’t contain any direct interplay with the corporate’s prime administration, together with the promoter. We now have challenged the registration of the FIR earlier than the Honble Karnataka Excessive Court docket and protecting orders have been handed in favour of Ola Electrical and its officers,” the assertion added.
Final week, the Karnataka Excessive Court docket directed the police to not harass Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and different firm officers throughout its investigation into the case.
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Concerning the quantity credited to Aravind’s account after his dying, the assertion learn, “To be able to present fast assist to the household, the corporate promptly facilitated the complete and last settlement to his checking account. Ola Electrical is absolutely cooperating with the authorities of their ongoing investigation and stays dedicated to sustaining a protected, respectful, and supportive office for all staff.”
Allegations on social media
Since Aravind’s dying, a lot has been mentioned in regards to the work atmosphere at Ola Electrical with many on social media elevating allegations of a hostile tradition.
On Glassdoor.co.in, a portal the place present and former staff can anonymously share insights about their workplaces, Ola Electrical has 2.6 scores out of 5. A lot of the customers have responded positively, stating that it’s a good place to earn nicely and has studying potential.
Nonetheless, many critiques have additionally said that there is no such thing as a work-life steadiness because of random requests from the workplace, and staff being requested to work late at evening after which resume obligation early the following morning.