Why OpenAI Whistleblower Suchir Balaji’s Parents Think His Death Was Murder, Have Sued US Cops For ‘Cover-Up’

Last Updated:February 04, 2025, 14:16 IST

In an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, Suchir’s mother Poornima Rao explained why they filed lawsuit against the San Francisco Police's investigation: “The police declared the death suicide without checking the CCTV footage…It’s the height of cover-up!”

Suchir Balaji's mother Poornima Rao said she may seek Elon Musk's help.

Exasperated by the wait for answers into the death of Open AI whistleblower Suchir Balaji, his parents have filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco Police’s investigation, citing several lapses.

In an exclusive interview to CNN-News18, Suchir’s mother Poornima Rao explained the reason behind the step: “The police declared the death suicide without checking the CCTV footage…It’s the height of cover-up!"

Suchir Balaji was found dead in his one-room apartment in November after he had publicly raised ethical concerns about OpenAI’s practices. Challenging the suicide claims, his family has now sought an Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) probe.

WHY THE LAWSUIT?

“We did file a lawsuit against the San Francisco City last Friday. This lawsuit is filed because San Francisco Police Department not only did they not do the investigation properly but they also denied…There are two-way statements by them. One way, they say the investigation is closed and the other, they say it is open. They tell the media it is open, then they say the case was closed on December 30. If the case is closed, they should release the investigation report to us. But they are not doing that," said Rao.

“It is vital to see the body cam video of the police to see the crime scene pictures. Those are our rights. There is a Public Records Act in California, according to which they cannot deny it. They have violated the California’s Public Records Act (CPRA) and we sued them for the violation of CPRA," she said.

THE LAPSES

“We have also given the judge the account of how bad the investigation was. For example, we went and interviewed the leasing office manager today. What he told us is the first police(man) who went inside the apartment, he came out and said he saw a gunshot wound on the body. He didn’t find a gun there. After a few minutes, he goes in and he comes back and says gun is under the leg," said Rao.

“The second thing is how irresponsible they can be…I have been sitting and watching. Nobody went into the leasing office to check the CCTV camera. When I was given the keys of the apartment told the news of death, they lied to me that they had checked the CCTV footage which showed nobody went in and nobody came out. He was all by himself. So he’s taken his life. This is a lie. When we went today, they have not even looked at CCTV. Within 20 minutes of going in, they came out and told this a suicide," she said.

“We have the map of the leasing office and we know that there are two entrances with CCTV cameras. Before deciding suicide, they have not validated there is no death note, they have not validated the CCTV footage whether anyone came in or out. They have not validated his emotional state…Despite of this, we wrote to the Chief of Police, City administrator, chief medical examiner to re-examine the case. On December 29, they came and said they looked at the CCTV and they looked at the body cam and crime scene pictures and they said it’s homicide," said Rao.

“On December 30, we heard from Deputy Chief of Police Raj Vaswani, who conducted the investigation. He said cops have looked at the CCTV footage and they concluded suicide. Today, we inquired in the apartment complex and found out they’ve never retrieved the CCTV footage…They have not even picked it up. It is the height of cover-up!"

MAY MEET ELON MUSK

Rao said she, along with her husband, is collecting evidence in the case, after which the couple is likely to meet Elon Musk. She has also alleged that OpenAI deleted data on November 21, which was to be presented to the courts a day before Suchir died.

Suchir left OpenAI as he got to know dark secrets about the copyright infringement of the AI giant to create a chatbot. Suchir, in fact, gave an interview to the New York Times and was made one of the witnesses in the lawsuit case filed by the New York Times against OpenAI. The family also alleged that Suchir’s house was searched, his pen drive is missing, and his desktop was open at the crime scene.

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