Just like Ned Stark on Game of Thrones, it seems like honest and diligent whistleblowers can’t catch a break. Earlier, Karnataka IAS officer K Mathai got transferred 27 times for uncovering an Rs. 300 crore land scam. Now, an Indian engineer residing in the US has been laid off by employer General Motors. Interestingly, he was responsible for exposing carmaker Volkswagen’s diesel car emissions fraud in 2013.
41-year-old Hemanth Kappanna joined GM in 2014. In February this year, he was fired by the company citing “strategic transformation”. His current job involved liaising with the Environmental Protection Agency on emissions technology.
Not having found another job in the US, he has now come back to Bengaluru. But what has this to do with VW, you ask? Here’s the entire story.
Who is Hemanth Kappanna and what is his connection with Volkswagen?
Six years ago, while studying at West Virginia University, Hemanth and two other students were assigned research to test the emissions of German diesel cars. While conducting real-time tests on Volkswagen’s cars, the trio found out that the company was using illegal software to cheat emission norms.
According to The New York Times, the scandal has cost the company a whopping $33 billion (Rs. 230000 crores) in penalties and criminal lawsuits.
Officially, General Motors has stated that his firing “was not related to any emissions compliance concerns or related issues.” But Hemanth has his doubts. He says,
“Certainly they could have seen me as biased. I can’t really say.”
We sincerely hope that his talent is recognised in the industry and he gets an amazing job offer soon.