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Suchir Balaji death: Ro Khanna calls for ‘full and transparent’ investigation as OpenAI researcher's mom raises doubts
Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna has called for a “full and transparent” investigation into the death of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji.
Silicon Valley Congressman Ro Khanna has called for a “full and transparent” investigation into the death of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji. The San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Balaji died by suicide, but his mother Poornima Ramarao has expressed her doubts, suggesting he may have been murdered.
‘There should be a full and transparent investigation’
Balaji had raised concerns about OpenAI breaking copyright law in an interview with The New York Times. Khanna took to X to address the incident, writing to Balaji’s mother, “I am heartbroken by your loss. Given your very serious concerns about foul play, I do believe that there should be a full and transparent investigation into the death by the FBI or appropriate agency.”
Khanna’s social media post was in response to an X post by Ramarao, who thanked him, saying, “Thank you @RoKhanna for speaking about our son @suchirbalaji and assuring to support us and calling for FBI investigation”.
Khanna later revealed that he had a “long call” with Ramarao, during which he started to “believe her that there are unanswered questions,” according to SiliconValley.com. Khanna added that he “will leave the investigation to the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies.”
Ramarao has raised serious concerns about her son’s death, saying in an interview with Tucker Carlson that she thinks her son was killed. She stressed that Balaji was in a “happy mood” and had “celebrated his birthday a day before he died.” “My son had documents against OpenAI. They attacked him and killed him,” she alleged.
“Everybody is suppressed, nobody is ready to come up and tell the truth. Even the attorneys have been made to tell that it is a suicide,” she added, alleging that some documents were missing. Ramarao’s interview comes days after she claimed in an X post that Balaji’s “apartment was ransacked” and that there was a “sign of struggle in the bathroom.”
