His family has alleged that sustained work-related stress and mental pressure may have contributed to his death. A 47-year-old senior scientist with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) died by suicide last week after jumping from a residential building in Seegehalli, Bengaluru.
Sharad Katiyar served as a scientist in the programming department of the ADA in Bengaluru and was associated with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2 programme. He lived with his family on the fourth floor of a residential complex in Seegehalli.
They alleged that the prolonged pressure had affected his mental health and that he had been consulting specialists at a private hospital, where he was diagnosed with a depressive episode. The family further claimed that the workplace pressure continued despite his seeking medical assistance. He sustained critical injuries and was rushed by family members and residents to a private hospital in K.S. Halli, where he was declared dead on arrival. Statements have also been recorded from Katiyar’s wife and his parents, Suresh Chandra Katiyar and Sudha Katiyar. The police investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death, including the family’s allegations of workplace stress, is ongoing. The police investigation is continuing, and the family’s allegations regarding work-related stress have yet to be independently established.
Police said the incident occurred between 7.30 pm and 8.00 pm, when Katiyar reportedly went to the stairwell landing between the fourth and fifth floors of the apartment building and jumped through a window. Based on the family’s complaint, police registered an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. Investigators inspected the scene on October 22 and completed the inquest at the hospital mortuary.
Katiyar had been experiencing severe work-related stress for more than a month, according to the family’s statement to the police.
