Govt to keep DNA profile, photographs of unidentified victims

Dehradun, June 25: All unidentified victims of the Uttarakhand disaster will be photographed and their DNA profiles kept in safety custody to help family members identify them in future.

As many of the 822 people who lost their lives following the rains and floods in Uttarakhand were yet to be identified, the government has decided to take photographs of all deceased and keep their DNA profile before their last rites, official sources said.

The decision to keep the records of every unidentified victim has been taken to help anyone who may come in future looking for them.

However, if the toll increases very substantially, the Uttarakhand government may take help of central forensic organisations in this task, the sources said.

Uttarakhand witnessed the worst human nature when the hill state was ravaged by a massive flood in which at least 822 people were killed till Tuesday, June 25.

DNA profiles are encrypted sets of numbers that reflect a person's DNA makeup, which can also be used as the person's identifier.

PTI