On May 8, the body of 25-year-old machine learning engineer -- Nikhil Somwanshi -- was found in Bengaluru’s Agara Lake.
Employed at Krutrim, Ola’s artificial intelligence division, Somwanshi had joined the company in August 2024 after completing his master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
Nearly two weeks after his death, a Reddit post alleging “extreme work pressure” and verbal abuse by a manager at Krutrim went viral, triggering backlash on social media and renewed scrutiny of corporate work culture in India’s tech sector.
Screenshot of the Reddit post
“Not sure why it's not a public issue yet, a colleague of mine just gave up on his life due to extreme work pressure,” read the post. “He used to work in Krutrim, and with 2 other guys leading a project (even after being a freshie). The other two guys left the company, so he was cramped up with work of the other two as well,” it added.
The post went on to name a manager, Rajkiran Panuganti, accusing him of creating a toxic environment. “He (the manager) has no real clue how to manage people. He just attends the calls, bashes people left, right and center and disappears since he lives in US and most workforce is here in Bangalore.”
Another line from the post read: “The words used in meetings, especially against freshers, it’s just traumatic,” with the Reddit user claiming, “Having not delivered a single product even after a year of joining Krutrim, he is just taking it all out on people.”
Nikhil Somwanshi (Linkedin/nikhilsomwanshi)
In response to the viral post and growing online outrage, Ola issued a statement to Hindustan Times, where Nikhil was referred to as Anil.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of one of our most talented young employees, Anil, on the 8th of May. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” a spokesperson for Ola Krutrim said.
“Anil 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.
“As a company, we are heartbroken by this loss. Anil was a valued team member, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew and worked with him," said an Ola representative.
While Ola referred to the employee as Anil in their official statement, multiple reports, including Financial Express, identified him as Nikhil Somwanshi.
He had graduated from IISc with a 9.30 GPA and had worked on a project named Saathi as part of his thesis.
Funded by the Melinda Gates Foundation, the project aimed to simplify access to government schemes and involved collaboration with Oxford Brookes University, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Akaike Technologies.
Somwanshi's role included creating structured documents from scheme texts, developing a financial literacy module and building systems for resolving user queries.
The Reddit user claimed that even after the incident, there had been no internal acknowledgement or change in behaviour within the company. “Even after this shocking incident, there has been no behavioural change in people there. I heard other team members saying if they stay anymore here, they are going to end up doing the same.”
The post also alleged that Panuganti emailed HR to fire his entire team after the incident.
In the comments section, the Reddit user stated, “Even after this tragedy, there has been no change. No reflection. Just silence. Authorities are trying to suppress the news.”
A former Krutrim employee, who had worked with Somwanshi, corroborated the allegations to Financial Express, saying, “Rajkiran has no people management skills. He shouts at employees and disappears. The verbal abuse in meetings was traumatic.”
The former employee further claimed that a senior manager at Krutrim told employees not to speak to the media or police after the death. “Post his death, (another senior manager at Krutrim) even told others during a session that no one will talk about the incident and if approached by someone, they should redirect them to Ola’s legal team.”
Panuganti, the manager named in the Reddit post, has taken down his LinkedIn profile since the post gained traction.
The incident has drawn comparisons to other workplace-related deaths, including the case of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old employee at Ernst & Young who suffered cardiac arrest in July, 2024. Her family attributed her death to excessive work hours and job stress.
An FIR has been filed in the Somwanshi case, and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. Ola maintains that it is in contact with relevant authorities and continues to extend support to Somwanshi’s family.