This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

The parents of a young California tech whistleblower whose 2024 death was ruled a suicide are now suing the City and County of San Francisco, alleging they violated public records laws by refusing to fulfill their requests for information about their son’s death.

Suchir Balaji, 26, was an employee at OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, at the time of his Nov. 26, 2024, death. A San Francisco County medical examiner concluded the next day he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his apartment.

“In the two-plus months since their son’s passing, Petitioners and their counsel have been stymied at every turn as they have sought more information about the cause of and circumstances surrounding Suchir’s tragic death. This petition, they hope, is the beginning of the end of that obstruction,” the lawsuit states.

San Francisco City Attorney’s Office spokesperson Jen Kwart told Fox News Digital that once their office is served, they will review the complaint and respond accordingly.

“Mr. Balaji’s death is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to his family,” Kwart said.

Bajali’s parents, Poornima Ramaro and Bajami Ramamurthy, allege their requests for more information about their son’s death were denied unfairly under the California Public Records Act. (Facebook)

“But you should at least communicate with them and let them know generally what’s being done to investigate the case,” Rooney said. “And if that hasn’t been done here because they’ve made a conclusion that Suchir died by suicide and that the investigation is closed, well … then we do have a right under the law [to view police records].

“When Ms. Ramarao informed the representative that her son had been a whistleblower against OpenAI and had been featured in the New York Times regarding his whistleblower allegations, the representative declined to follow up or seek any additional information,” the lawsuit alleged. 

“Instead, the [medical examiner’s office] representative handed Ms. Ramarao Suchir’s apartment keys and told her she could retrieve her son’s body the following day. The representative also told Ms. Ramarao that she should not be allowed to see Suchir’s body and that his face had been destroyed when a bullet went through his eye.”

Dr. Joseph Cohen, a forensic pathologist hired by Balaji’s parents, conducted a private autopsy and noted that Balaji’s gunshot wound was “atypical and uncommon in suicides.” The 26-year-old also had a contusion on the back of his head, according to the complaint.

Cohen also “noted that the trajectory of the bullet was downward with a slight left to right angle” and “that the bullet completely missed the brain before perforating and lodging in the brain stem.”

Fox News Digital reached out to OpenAI for comment.