Pakistan sent DNA samples in Aug, but India may take months to know if it’s BRO officer’s body

Pakistan sent DNA samples in August, and Subhan Ali’s parents’ samples were collected in October. But there’s a long queue at CFSL Chandigarh, says Rajnath Singh.

Indian Engineering Service officer Subhan Ali was deployed with the Border Roads Organisation in Ladakh | Photo: Facebook | Subhan Ali

New Delhi: The grief-stricken family of Border Road Organisation (BRO) officer Subhan Ali has been waiting for closure for eight months since the car he was traveling in met with an accident and fell into the fast-flowing Drass river on the Zojila-Kargil-Leh road on 22 June last year.

While the body of his driver, Palwinder Singh, was found two weeks later, 25 km from the accident site, and within the Indian territory, Ali remained missing.

Days later, the Pakistani officials informed their Indian counterpart that Pakistan recovered an unidentified body from Shingo river close to the LoC on 27 June 2020.

Following intervention of the Army Headquarters here, Pakistan handed over the DNA sample of the unidentified body.

DNA samples from the body as well as from Subhan Ali’s parents were sent over to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Chandigarh.

That took place between August and October last year; it’s now February and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said it may take three to six months more for the lab to identify the body because of a long queue of samples.

Rajnath’s letter

Rajnath Singh gave these details in a letter sent to Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali, dated 11 February. The MP from Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, had shown an interest in the case and asked the defence minister to ascertain where Subhan Ali’s body had disappeared.

According to an inquiry conducted by the defence ministry, on 22 June, Subhan Ali and Palwinder had an accident while coming from Mataiyan; their car fell into a deep gorge and rolled into the fast-flowing Drass river on the Zojila-Kargil-Leh road.

Rescue teams of the police, the State Disaster Response Force and a local group called Baseej-e-Imam tried to trace Subhan Ali and Palwinder, but only the latter’s remains were recovered from the river after two weeks of extensive search — 25 km away from the site of the accident.

The defence minister’s letter, accessed by ThePrint, went on to add that Pakistan recovered an unidentified body from Shingo river close to the LoC on 27 June 2020, but it could not be ascertained whether it was that of BRO officer Ali.

“Army Headquarters has coordinated with the authorities in Pakistan for obtaining DNA samples to ascertain the identity of the body. The DNA samples have been received by Kargil Police at Tangdhar on 22 August and the DNA samples of the parents were collected on 28 October 2020,” Singh’s letter stated.

The letter said the samples have been sent to the CFSL Chandigarh for matching DNA samples, but “it is learnt that DNA matching analysis… is in queue and it may take 3 to 6 months before the report is received”.

Further action will be taken on receipt of the report from the lab, the letter added.

Disheartening delay

Danish Ali called the delay in identifying the remains “disheartening”. Detailing why he had taken a personal interest in the matter, he said he was impressed by Subhan, the son of a tailor from Uttar Pradesh, who fought poverty to study at Jamia Millia Islamia.

“Subhan was a very bright student at Jamia. It is sad that we lost him, and now his distressed family cannot even see his mortal remains,” he said.

Danish Ali said Subhan had been monitoring quarantine centres in Kargil and Leh the day the accident occurred, just over a month before his marriage was scheduled, on 27 July.