Bengaluru 19 May

The body of a 25-year-old techie was recovered from Agara Lake in HSR Layout police station limits earlier this month. The matter came to light on 8 May when a few locals found the body floating in the lake and alerted the jurisdictional police.

The deceased, Nikhil Somwanshi, was a Machine Learning Engineer working for Ola's artificial intelligence (AI) unit, Krutrim in Koramangala. He was a graduate from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and as per his LinkedIn profile, had joined Krutrim in August 2024, as his first job.

The HSR Layout Police initially registered a case of unnatural death (UDR) and launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of death.

Nearly two weeks after his death, the matter gained public attention following a series of social media posts by Nikhil’s colleagues. These posts alleged that he had faced workplace harassment and claimed that "the authorities are trying their best to shut down the matter."

In a statement to the police, Nikhil’s family and friends also alleged that he had been subjected to mental harassment by his manager, reportedly a US national. They claimed that the manager intimidated new employees and imposed unrealistic workloads, which allegedly contributed to Nikhil’s deteriorating mental health.

Responding to the allegations, Krutrim said Nikhil was on personal leave at the time of the incident.  “Nikhil was on personal leave at the time of the incident. He had reached out to his manager on the 8th of April, expressing that he needed rest, and was promptly granted personal time off. Later, on the 17th of April, he shared that he was feeling better but would benefit from additional rest, and his leave was extended accordingly," the company clarified.

Police have not confirmed the harassment allegations but are expected to summon company representatives and colleagues for questioning.

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