HC orders fresh DNA test to find identity of Ludhiana man
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has ordered fresh DNA test of family members of Jaswinder Singh, a Ludhiana resident killed in a blast in Saudi Arabia in 2015, whose mortal remains have been lying in a Delhi mortuary for 20 months.
Jaswinder, who worked at a crusher in Ummul Farjan, 50 km from Al-Kharj province in Saudi Arabia, lost his life on November 27, 2015, along with three other workers, in a cylinder blast. His mortal remains were brought to India in February 2017, but as the DNA reports and post mortem reports were not sent, the family refused to accept the mortal remains.
It was in March 2017 that his brother Dalbir Singh had moved the high court seeking direction for getting the DNA report of mortal remains of the brother from Saudi government. The family had also claimed that Jaswinder’s phone number was active for some time even after his death. Also they had sent their DNA samples to Saudi authorities to establish his identity.
The petition was disposed of in
April 2018 by high court with a direction to the Centre to secure reports within three months. However, as the government failed in obtaining the reports, Dalbir filed a contempt petition in September 2018.
The high court bench of justice Avneesh Jhingan has now asked family members of Jaswinder Singh to meet director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, on November 30 for providing the sample to match the DNA with that of remains sent by the Saudi government.
The court also directed the Centre to ensure that the test is conducted and report given expeditiously so that mortal remains could be handed over to the family and they can perform the last rites. Responding to the contempt plea, the Centre had told court that in spite of its best efforts, the DNA reports of the family and that of mortal remains in possession of Saudi authorities could not be secured. However, it stated that DNA test can be conducted in India itself, if the samples are provided by the family members of the deceased for matching these with the sample taken from the mortal remains of Singh received from the Saudi Arabia.