'Manipulator, Liar, and Unethical': Suchir Balaji’s Mother Makes Explosive Revelations About Sam Altman, OpenAI

New Delhi: Months after OpenAI whistleblower Suchir Balaji was found dead, his mother, Poornima Rao, has once again termed his death as "murder," highlighting glaring lapses in the investigation. Rao, while speaking to Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami , also revealed that they plan to reach out to Elon Musk next week to seek further support in uncovering the truth. She raised several unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances of her son’s death, questioning the official findings and demanding a thorough probe.   

Unanswered Questions in Suchir Balaji’s Death Investigation

• Why was there bleeding and a wound on his knee?
• Why was there a head injury?
• Why was his tongue ripped?
• Why was there blood spatter outside the bathroom where the crime occurred?
• Why was a Date Rape Drug (GHB) found in his system?
• Why does the autopsy report fail to account for these wounds?
• Why does the autopsy report not mention the metal object in his skull that was never removed?
• How could someone who was sedated have shot themselves at such a strange downward angle?
• Why were his cheekbones broken?

'It's a Murder'

Poornima Rao firmly stated that her son, Suchir Balaji, was murdered, pointing to multiple inconsistencies in the investigation. She emphasized that more than one bullet was found in his body, raising serious doubts about the official claim of suicide. “One bullet could have made him unconscious. How could he shoot himself twice?” she questioned.

Backing her claim, Poornima cited the radiology report, revealing that CT scans from the MEA office were reviewed by three radiologists, all of whom confirmed the presence of a second bullet. According to them, the trajectory of the second bullet indicated that it was first fired into his mouth before he was shot in the head.

The toxicology report further deepened the mystery, showing an extremely high level of alcohol in Suchir’s system. Poornima insisted that her son did not consume hard liquor, yet there was no empty alcohol bottle found in his apartment. Additionally, GHB, commonly known as the date rape drug, was found in large amounts. The combination of alcohol and GHB can be fatal and sedative, raising the question of how someone in such a state could have shot themselves.

She also pointed to multiple wounds that were overlooked in the official reports. “What about the wounds on his lips? Why were they not documented? There was also a wound on the back of his head—why was that ignored?” she asked. Additionally, blood spatters were found both inside and outside the bathroom, yet investigators failed to account for them before declaring it a suicide.

Poornima further criticized the speed of the investigation, revealing that it took authorities just six minutes to enter the bathroom, come out, and conclude that it was a suicide. “That was it. They didn’t conduct a proper investigation. They simply took the CT scan, removed one bullet, and left the second one behind. Until we got the CT scan reviewed, we had no idea.”

'Will Reach Elon Musk Soon'

Elon Musk had tweeted about this case when asked, but now he seems to have conveniently forgotten about it. Nobody is talking about it anymore. Do you feel he let you down—using it briefly to highlight his own issues with OpenAI but never pursuing it further? Now that he's in such a powerful position, do you think he simply doesn’t care?

Poormina Rao said,"The first time he pointed it out, there might have been some opposition against him. That's my guess—I can't speak for Elon Musk. But he's against his competitor. OpenAI is his competitor. By supporting this, OpenAI might blame him for trying to suppress his competition. He's doing all these things—that's my guess. We are going to reach out to Elon Musk next week."

When asked how will she reach Musk, Poornima said," Through a professor who works directly with Elon, through Elon's attorney. We are meeting a friend today who's going to take us to his attorney. More than one channel, Mario Naval, who has direct contact with Elon. More than one channel. We should be getting to him soon."  

'Systematic Coverup, Botched Investigation'

When asked if there was a systematic cover-up involving OpenAI and others to close up this case, Suchir Balaji's mother said," Yes, this is a botched investigation. And we are going to file a complaint against SFPD. We are also going to file a complaint. We have filed a complaint against the ME (Medical Examiner) Association. And we will sue them. We'll sue the SFPD. We'll sue the ME. And whatever it takes for us to get justice for our son. Everyone who comes in the way of justice, it's a crime and they need to go to jail."

Why No Direct Questions to Sam Altman or OpenAI?

Responding to whether she had directly questioned Sam Altman or OpenAI, challenging them over her son's findings that opposed the company, Poornima said, "We have indirectly suggested that OpenAI could be involved because, ultimately, who benefits from this? The only entity that stands to gain is OpenAI. The motive points to OpenAI. Who profits from his death? And what is the cause? It all leads back to OpenAI—we know that. But without direct evidence, American laws prevent us from making a definitive statement."

‘Suchir Hated Sam Altman’

When asked, “What would you say to Sam Altman?” Poornima Rao responded, “Well, I haven't met him. I haven't talked to him. I can only share what my son wrote about him. My son called him a manipulator, a liar, and an unethical person. That’s what he wrote in his journal. I can share it with everyone. He hated Sam Altman.”

She recalled that just a week before his death, Suchir was backpacking in the Catalina Islands with his friends and repeatedly spoke negatively about Altman. “As a mother, I know that Suchir never spoke negatively about anyone since he was born. For him to say something like this, there must have been something very serious about Altman.”

Poornima also noted that whenever she tried to probe her son about the matter, he responded with anger and silence. “Every time I asked, I only saw frustration in him. He wouldn’t speak about it. That’s when I knew something was very wrong.”

She further revealed that on October 29, Suchir spoke with a copyright attorney, Matthew Butterick, about his concerns. “Matthew later spoke to us at the end of November and confirmed that Suchir had told him what OpenAI did to him. Seeing my son’s anger and hearing his statements, we know something was seriously wrong.”

Another major red flag, she said, was Suchir’s unexpected shift in career decisions. “In June, we saw his LinkedIn messages responding to a recruiter, saying, ‘I’m happy at my job. I’m not looking for anything else.’ But just a month later, in July, he went to The New York Times for an interview. Why? What changed so drastically in July? We want to know.”

What Did Suchir Find About OpenAI?

Poornima Rao revealed that while they are still waiting for concrete evidence, they believe Suchir had uncovered serious dangers related to AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and ASI.

“He sensed the risks and wrote very clearly that there is no AI safety in place. He described AI as a weapon given to someone with no rules, no controls—something that could harm humanity. That was his biggest concern.”

She believes Suchir paid the ultimate price for speaking out. “In the fight to suppress humanity, Suchir almost lost. In fact, he already lost his life. This is completely unacceptable. Killing a 26-year-old for speaking the truth—if they can’t prove themselves technically, if they can’t establish their credibility in the market, should they resort to taking a life to survive? Whoever is responsible—what did they gain from killing a 26-year-old?”

Trump’s Collaboration with Sam Altman and OpenAI—A Billionaire Power Play?

When asked about Trump’s collaboration with Sam Altman and OpenAI, and whether billionaires are simply striving to become trillionaires, Poornima refused to give anyone a clean sheet. “We’re talking about an industry worth hundreds of billions, even a trillion dollars in AI.”

She elaborated on Suchir’s criticism of AI, saying he exposed its hallucination problem. “He called AI an illusion. One of the proofs he highlighted was a case in Norway, where a man asked ChatGPT about himself, and it falsely claimed he had killed two of his sons and gone to jail. These kinds of erroneous results were a major concern for him.”

According to Poornima, Suchir wasn’t just an observer—he was actively working on solutions. “He spoke the truth. He was extremely intelligent and was planning to start his own Artificial General Intelligence company. He was already in talks with venture capitalists—and that’s when they killed him. We don’t know the exact cause yet, but we know there are many people involved. Maybe one, maybe more than one.”

Putting Grief Aside to Get Justice

Despite the immense loss, Poornima remains determined to seek justice. “It’s beyond imagination for us. It’s incredibly difficult. But right now, we are putting our grief aside. All we want is justice. We want to expose them.”