Surat: The suicide of two college students in Surat has sparked an international debate on the misuse of artificial intelligence after tech entrepreneur Elon Musk reacted to a social media post linking the incident to AI-based searches related to self-harm. The case, reported from the Dindoli area, involved two young women who allegedly died after injecting anaesthetic drugs, with police finding suicide-related search queries on their mobile phones, including on ChatGPT.

According to police, the bodies of the two women, aged 18 and 20 and described as childhood friends and relatives, were found inside a locked bathroom at the newly built Atmiya Sanskardham Swaminarayan temple in the Saniya Kande area on March 6. Syringes, anaesthetic injections, and medicine vials were recovered from the spot, and investigators suspect death due to an overdose. A case of accidental death has been registered and further inquiry is underway.

The incident gained global attention after US-based podcaster Katie Miller shared a news report about the suicide case on platform X. Miller, in her post, said,
“Two women in India committed suicide after interactions with ChatGPT. They had reportedly searched ChatGPT about ‘how to commit suicide,’ ‘how suicide can be done,’ and ‘which drugs are used.'”

Responding to the post, Musk wrote, “Yikes,” triggering widespread discussion on social media about safeguards on AI tools and harmful online content.

Police said searches on ChatGPT related to suicide methods were found on the phones of the deceased, including queries such as “how to commit suicide” and information about anaesthesia drugs. Investigators also recovered a news clipping saved on the phone about a nurse who had allegedly died by suicide in Surat last year using anaesthetic injections, raising suspicion that the method may have been copied.

The deceased were B.Com students studying at colleges in Udhna and Athwagate. On the morning of the incident, both left home for college but never reached their classes. When they failed to return, family members contacted the colleges and later filed a missing complaint at Dindoli police station.

During the search, police traced their mobile phone location to the Swaminarayan temple, where one of the girls’ two-wheelers was found parked outside. CCTV footage showed the two entering the temple premises and heading towards the washroom area. The locked bathroom door was later broken open by family members and temple staff, and both were found unconscious. They were rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

Police said three syringes, anaesthetic medicine bottles, and personal belongings, including phones, books, and photographs, were recovered from their bags. The mobile phones have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory to retrieve chats and other data that may reveal the reason behind the incident.

Family members told police that both girls had studied together since school and were good friends, and the motive behind the suspected suicide remains unclear. Officials are also investigating how the students obtained the anaesthetic drug.

The case has intensified discussion among technology experts and law-enforcement agencies about the need for stricter safeguards on AI platforms and better monitoring of harmful online searches, while authorities have urged parents and students to use digital tools responsibly. DeshGujarat