Young Krutrim techie found dead in Bengaluru; toxic work culture behind this?
25-year-old AI engineer Nikhil Somwanshi was allegedly overburdened with work because he had to take on responsibilities of former colleagues who had resigned
Toxic work culture and abusive behaviour are being cited as the alleged reasons behind the death of an engineer Nikhil Somwanshi, 25, who was employed in an AI firm in Bengaluru.
On May 8, Somwanshi's body was found in Bengaluru's Agara Lake and a first information report (FIR) was filed to probe the death.
A brilliant student
Somwanshi was an alumnus of Bengaluru's Indian Institute of Science (IISc), where he had completed his master’s degree. Subsequently, he joined an AI company called Krutrim – run by ride-hailing app Ola – in August 2024 as a machine learning engineer.
According to media reports, Somwanshi, a meritorious student with a 9.30 GPA, was allegedly overburdened with work because he had to take on the responsibilities of former colleagues who had resigned due to the abusive conduct of their US-based manager, Rajkiran Panuganti.
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‘Extreme work pressure’
A Reddit user named 'Kirgawakutzo’ attributed the reason behind Somwanshi’s suicide to “extreme work pressure.” The user said in his post that Somwanshi used to work in Krutrim along with two other colleagues and was leading a project despite being a fresher.
The Reddit user further stated that after two of his colleagues resigned, their work was also thrust upon Somwanshi. He alleged that the manager had no man-management skills and shouted and abused people.
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‘An abusive manager’
“He just attends the calls, bashes people left, right and centre and disappears since he lives in the US and most of the workforce is here in Bangalore. The words used in meetings, especially against freshers, are just traumatic,” said the user.
He further alleged that multiple employees had earlier resigned due to the exploitative behaviour and toxic work culture promoted by the manager.
Krutrim condoles death
Condoling Somwanshi’s death, a Krutrim spokesperson said that the company was saddened by the loss and is cooperating with the authorities in the investigation.
According to news reports, the company said in an email that Somwanshi had applied for leave on April 8, stating that he needed rest, and the leave application was promptly approved.
“Later, on April 17, he shared that he was feeling better but would benefit from additional rest, and his leave was extended accordingly," the company said via email.
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Abusive behaviour
A number of Krutrim employees accused the manager of having a reputation for aggressive and abusive behaviour and often berating junior employees, dubbing them as incompetent.
A report in Business Standard quoted a former Krutrim employee who "corroborated the allegations and claimed to have resigned without another job offer in hand due to intense work pressure, recalling feeling suicidal."
Earlier incidents
This incident follows the much publicised death of Anna Sebastian, a 26-year-old employee at Ernst & Young, who died of cardiac arrest, attributed to excessive work pressure by her parents.
Similiarly, a Bajaj Finance employee took his own life and left a suicide note holding work pressure and his superiors responsible for his extreme step.