Forensic experts say DNA test is a process where a biological sample can be fully or partially destroyed.
New Delhi: The hair samples of the Kathua case victim could have been used up for the DNA test, say forensic experts, even as a controversy is raging that an envelope, which was supposed to contain the hair strands of the eight-year-old girl, turned out to be empty when opened in court.
Sources in the Delhi-based Central Forensic Science Laboratory, where the DNA test was carried out, told ThePrint that most biological exhibits such as hair strands can be partially or fully consumed for a DNA test.
“Extracting the DNA out of a biological sample is always a destructive process,” an official from the laboratory said.
“The sample usually gets destroyed — partially or fully. It has to be chemically digested so that the DNA can be isolated from the sample,” the official explained.
Remnants of the exhibits, if any, are sent back to the agency concerned in sealed packets, the official claimed, adding that “100 per cent destruction is common in case of biological samples”.
The official further explained that if a sample is used up, it is not mentioned in the report.
According to the lab report, the DNA of a few hair strands had matched with that of the victim. Six hair strands collected from the crime spot in Rasana village in Kathua were sent for DNA tests.
The test report proved to be the clinching evidence in the case that established the presence of the eight-year-old victim in the temple in Rasana village, where she was allegedly confined to, sedated and raped for a week before being murdered in January. This also forms a part of the chargesheet filed by the police in the case in April.
The DNA result of another hair strand, found at the site where the victim’s body was dumped, had matched with that of the juvenile allegedly involved in raping and strangulating the victim, proving his presence at the site.
Sources from the J&K police’s crime branch told ThePrint that DNA report was crucial for the investigating team.
A senior official said the packet containing the exhibits was sealed before a magistrate before being sent to the forensic laboratory.
“Apart from the DNA report, the lab had sent us back the sealed envelope. It was court’s property …it was opened in front of the judge,” an official said.
“Since there was no hair strand found in the envelope, we assume they were consumed for the examination, which is common with most biological samples. However, it is for the forensic experts to explain this in detail,” the official added.
Read in Hindi: कठुआ रेप पीड़िता के लापता बालों पर घमासान: विशेषज्ञों का कहना, डीएनए परीक्षण के दौरान नष्ट हो जाते हैं नमूने