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HC asks police to not harass Ola CEO, others named in abetment case
The Karnataka high court has directed the Bengaluru police not to harass Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and others in connection with an abetment to suicide case
The Karnataka high court has directed the Bengaluru police not to harass Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal and others in connection with an abetment to suicide case registered earlier this month involving the death of an employee.
The case pertains to the death of a 38-year-old homologation engineer at Ola Electric who allegedly consumed poison on September 28, leaving behind a detailed note accusing the management of harassment. On October 6, based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s brother, police had registered an FIR against Aggarwal, the company Ola Electric, and its head of vehicle homologations department Subrat Kumar Dash under Sections 108 (abetment of suicide) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Hearing the company’s petition challenging the FIR, justice Mohammad Nawaz said that the police must not harass the petitioners under the “guise of an investigation.”
“The police who are investigating into the case... registered at Subramanyapura Police Station, Bengaluru City, shall not harass the petitioners in the guise of investigation,” the court said on October 17, and sought a response from the police and the deceased’s brother regarding the petition. WAS THIS ORDER MADE PUBLIC TODAY?
Aggarwal and Ola Electric and Dash had moved the court on October 14 this year, seeking that the FIR against them be quashed and that the police be restrained from taking any coercive action against them in the meanwhile. The court later issued notices to the police and the deceased’s brother.
As per the FIR, the deceased, who had been employed at Ola Electric since 2022, had left a 28-page note before dying by suicide where he accused the petitioners of workplace harassment and of withholding salary and incentives.
The complainant had also alleged that two days after his brother’s death, ₹17.46 lakh was abruptly sent by Ola to his bank account through NEFT, which raised suspicion. He added that company representatives gave inconsistent explanations about such transfer of money. In his note, the deceased reportedly named Aggarwal and Dash, and alleged that their constant harassment at work drove him into depression.
Ola Electric has, meanwhile, expressed grief over the death, but added that he never “raised any complaints” about his employment or harassment, and his role did not involve direct interaction with the company’s top management. “We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate demise of our colleague... (he) had been associated with Ola Electric for over three and a half years and was based at our headquarters in Bangalore. During his tenure, he never raised any complaint or grievance regarding his employment or any harassment. His role also did not involve any direct interaction with the company’s top management, including the promoter,” the company spokesperson said in a statement on Monday.
