 "Nikhil Somwanshi allegedly died by suicide due to toxic work environment at Krutim. Image Courtesy: LinkedIn")
The death of a young employee in India has once again put the spotlight on toxic work culture. Nikhil Somwanshi, a techie who worked for Ola’s artificial intelligence (AI) arm Krutrim, died allegedly by suicide on May 8.
It is being claimed that he was under extreme work pressure. Nikhil’s death grabbed headlines after a Reddit post by an anonymous user describing the alleged toxic work environment at Krutim went viral.
Let’s take a closer look.
Who was Nikhil Somwanshi?
Nikhil Somwanshi, 25, was a machine learning engineer at Krutrim, the AI unit of the ride-hailing service Ola.
He recently graduated from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. Nikhil had joined Krutrim just ten months ago, according to his LinkedIn profile.
For his master’s thesis, he worked on large language model (LLM) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)-based chatbot called Saathi. The project was a collaboration between IISc Bangalore, the UK’s Oxford Brookes University, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Akaike Technologies.
Nikhil also briefly interned at Kotak Mahindra Bank in Bengaluru and at IISc as a Natural Language Processing Engineer, as per his profile.
Did work pressure kill him?
Nikhil Somwanshi died allegedly by suicide on May 8. His body was found in Bengaluru’s Agara Lake, as per NDTV. A first information report (FIR) has been filed in the matter.
After his death, a Reddit post alleging a toxic work culture at Krutim has gained eyeballs. The Reddit user ‘Kirgawakutzo’ claimed Nikhil, a fresher, faced intense work pressure and verbal abuse at the hands of his US-based manager, Rajkiran Panuganti.
According to the post, Nikhil was part of a three-member team which was leading a project. After two of the members resigned, Nikhil was burdened with their work as well. The post blamed Rajkiran for creating a toxic environment for employees, especially freshers.
It is alleged that Rajkiran used “traumatic” language in meetings, particularly for newcomers. The post said the manager “attends the calls, bashes people left, right and centre and disappears” since he is in the US and most of the workforce is in Bengaluru.
“The words used in meetings, especially against freshers- it’s just traumatic,” the post claimed.
These allegations have been corroborated by former employees of Krutim.
One of the ex-employees, who previously worked with Nikhil, told Financial Express, “Rajkiran has no people management skills. He shouts at employees and disappears. The verbal abuse in meetings was traumatic.”
The person added that current employees have been told not to speak with the media or police. “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,” the ex-employee claimed.
Speaking to Business Standard, a former employee backed the allegations in the viral post, claiming to have quit without another job offer due to intense work pressure and recalled having suicidal thoughts while working at Krutim.
Another ex-employee also corroborated the allegations in the Reddit post, calling it a “nightmare” to work with the team’s manager. As per the employee, the team members were frequently abused verbally for asking even basic clarifications or suggesting improvements, Business Standard reported.
The Reddit post alleged that even after Nikhil’s death, there has been “no behavioural change” in people at Krutim. It also accused the company of trying to suppress the news of the tragic incident.
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Krutim says…
A Krutrim spokesperson condoled Nikhil’s death, saying the AI firm is “extending full support” to his family.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of one of our most talented young employees, Nikhil (Somwanshi), on the 8th of May. Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with his family, friends, and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time. We are extending our full support to Nikhil’s family and our employees during this time of grief. We are also in contact with the relevant authorities and will continue to offer our assistance as needed,” the spokesperson told PTI.
Krutim said Nikhil was on “personal leave” at the time of the incident. “He had reached out to his manager on April 8, expressing that he needed rest, and was promptly granted personal time off. Later, on April 17, he shared that he was feeling better but would benefit from additional rest, and his leave was extended accordingly. We are heartbroken by this loss. Nikhil was a valued team member, and his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew and worked with him,” it added.
A former Ola Krutrim employee, told Financial Express on the condition of anonymity that Nikhil stopped going to the office two weeks before his death, citing mental health concerns.
Similar cases
Nikhil Somwanshi’s death has again brought toxic work culture into the limelight in India.
Several cases of sudden deaths, including alleged suicides, of employees have been reported in the country in recent years.
In April, a 23-year-old techie allegedly jumped to his death in Kerala due to “extreme work pressure.” He had reportedly sent a video to his mother, underlining his overwhelming workload and pressure.
Last October, a 42-year-old worker at Bajaj Finance is alleged to have died by suicide, citing immense work pressure and mental torture by his seniors in his suicide note. He left behind his wife and two children.
An HDFC Bank employee, Sadaf Fatima, died at work, reportedly from a heart attack, in Lucknow after collapsing on the ground in September 2024. According to her colleagues, she was under stress due to work pressure.
Another similar case surfaced in September last year. Anna Sebastian Perayil , a 26-year-old employee of Ernst and Young (EY) Pune, had died on July 20 while undergoing treatment at a city hospital after feeling uneasy and complaining of exhaustion.
The incident sparked a major backlash and debate on toxic work culture after a letter by Anna’s mother to EY’s India head, blaming ”work pressure” and long working hours for her daughter’s death, went viral.
With inputs from agencies
A collection of Suicide prevention helpline numbers are available here . Please reach out if you or anyone you know is in need of support. The All-India helpline number is: 022-27546669)