Two young women aged 18 and 20 were found dead inside a bathroom of the Swaminarayan temple in Surat’s Dindoli area on Saturday. Police said anaesthesia injections and syringes were recovered from the spot, and searches on their mobile phones included queries on ChatGPT about “how to commit suicide”.

The two were childhood friends and college students. Police suspect there may have been a common reason behind their alleged deaths by suicide, though the exact cause will be known only after further investigation.

Girls left home for college but did not return

According to Dindoli police, the younger girl was a first-year BCom student at Wadia Women’s College in Athwa, while the other was a second-year BCom student at Udhna Citizen College.

On Friday morning, the two left their homes as usual for college. However, they did not return home later in the day. When their families contacted the colleges, they learnt that the girls had not attended classes.

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Concerned family members began searching for them and eventually filed a missing persons report with the Dindoli police. During the search, the families located one of the girl’s two-wheelers parked outside the Swaminarayan temple.

CCTV footage leads families to temple washroom

Police said the family members approached temple authorities after finding the vehicle. CCTV camera footage showed the two girls entering a toilet inside the temple premises.

The families then went to the washroom and broke open the locked door in the presence of temple authorities.

Inside, the girls were found lying unconscious on the floor. They were immediately rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead.

Anaesthetic drugs and syringes recovered

Dindoli police said the family members recovered four bottles of anaesthetic drugs, one empty syringe and three injections from the washroom and handed them over to the police. Officers also seized the mobile phones of both girls as part of the investigation.

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"On checking their phones, we have found that they had searched on ChatGPT ‘how to commit suicide’… We also found a news clipping about a hospital nurse who had allegedly died by suicide using anaesthesia injection … we have handed their mobile phones to the forensic science laboratory. The cause of death will be learnt in the coming days," Assistant Commissioner of Police N P Gohil told The Indian Express.

"We are waiting for the FSL report to get access to their WhatsApp chats, which can provide us a clearer picture", he further said.

Police have registered a case of accidental death, and further investigation is underway.