Gandhinagar, Sep 10 (IANS): The Gujarat government has completed DNA sample collection from relatives of 29 of the 30 people from the state, including Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRGs), who remain missing or uncontactable following the August 26 flash floods in Nepal, particularly along the Nepal-Tibet border and Bhote Koshi River corridor.
The samples are being processed for DNA profiling to help identify bodies and human remains recovered in the disaster. The process for the remaining missing person is also underway.
The Gujarat State Non-Resident Gujaratis’ Foundation (NRGF), under the NRI Division of the General Administration Department, has been coordinating with the families and authorities in India and abroad to facilitate the DNA collection and identification process.
The initiative is being carried out in accordance with guidelines issued by the Central government, under which designated forensic laboratories have been identified for DNA sample collection and profiling of first-degree relatives of missing persons.
DNA profiling at laboratories designated for the purpose is being undertaken free of cost, as directed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Six designated laboratories in Gujarat are facilitating the process, with DNA profiling being undertaken in Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Junagadh and Rajkot.
The National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) in Gandhinagar, is coordinating with the Ministry of External Affairs on DNA profiling of samples collected in India and their linkage with the identification process in Nepal.
A 10-member NFSU forensic team has also been involved in the identification efforts in Nepal. Nepal Police has separately initiated DNA profiling of recovered bodies and human remains following the incident.
NRGF has been personally contacting relatives of each missing person and guiding them about the designated laboratories, available facilities and the procedure for DNA sample collection and profiling.
It has also been coordinating with NRGs and relatives living abroad to ascertain the action taken by local authorities in their respective countries.
In cases involving relatives in New Zealand, the United States, Canada and African countries, NRGF has obtained information about DNA samples collected by authorities in those countries and the status of the identification process.
In several cases, samples of relatives living abroad have already been collected through the respective local authorities.
The DNA profiling reports are being sent directly by the designated laboratories to Nepalese authorities through the official email addresses and contact numbers notified by the them for the identification exercise.
Nepal Police has also requested first-degree relatives of missing people living abroad to undergo DNA profiling at authorised forensic laboratories in their respective countries.
The Gujarat Government, through the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), district administrations and NRGF, has been coordinating efforts to trace people from the state and Gujaratis living abroad who were reported missing or remain uncontactable after the floods.
A consolidated list of missing and untraceable persons prepared by SEOC and NRGF has also been shared with the Nepal government. So far, 30 people, including NRGs, remain untraceable from the flood-affected areas.
Those reported missing or out of contact include people from Ahmedabad, Anand, Banaskantha, Kheda, Gandhinagar, Surat, Valsad, Rajkot and other parts of Gujarat. Several had travelled to Nepal for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through different travel agencies and routes.
The scale of the disaster has made conventional identification difficult in cases where bodies or human remains have been severely damaged or recovered in parts.
Nepal has therefore begun a large-scale DNA identification exercise, with samples being collected from relatives and compared with DNA obtained from recovered remains.
The DNA-based process is expected to help establish the identities of victims from Gujarat and other parts of India, as well as foreign nationals, and provide families with confirmation about the fate of relatives who remain missing.
