**Tragic Death of Ola Engineer Sparks Concerns Over Workplace Pressure**
The tragic death of Nikhil Somwanshi, an engineer at Ola’s artificial intelligence division, Krutrim, has drawn attention following claims from a colleague on Reddit that he faced “extreme work pressure.” Somwanshi’s body was discovered in Agara Lake, Bengaluru, on May 8, as reported by NDTV, referencing the case FIR. The Reddit user, who identified themselves as ‘Kirigawakazuto’ and claimed to be a coworker, alleged that Somwanshi’s suicide was a result of overwhelming stress at work, exacerbated by the departure of two colleagues that shifted their workload onto him. The user described the experience of working with the manager, particularly for new employees, as “traumatic.”
Nikhil Somwanshi was a machine learning engineer at Krutrim, the AI unit of Ola, led by Bhavish Aggrawal. His LinkedIn profile indicates that he was a recent graduate from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, having joined the company in August 2024. Prior to his role at Ola, he interned at Kotak Mahindra Bank for three months in 2023 and worked as a Natural Language Processing Engineer at IISc for six months, contributing to a chatbot project funded by the Melinda Gates Foundation.
In response to the incident, a spokesperson for Krutrim expressed deep sorrow over Somwanshi’s passing and stated that the company is providing full support to his family while cooperating with authorities. They noted that Somwanshi was on personal leave at the time of his death, having communicated with his manager about needing time off for rest.
The situation raises important questions about workplace culture and the pressures faced by employees in high-stress environments, particularly in the tech industry.
**FAQ**
**What were the circumstances surrounding Nikhil Somwanshi’s death?**
Nikhil Somwanshi’s death is being investigated following claims from a colleague that he experienced extreme work pressure, which may have contributed to his tragic decision to take his own life.
