Bhubaneswar: Northern range DIG Jai Narayan Pankaj on Wednesday clarified that nuclear DNA obtained from the remains of deceased teacher Mamita Meher matched with that of her parents, but her micro DNA did not as those exhumed from an under-construction under-construction Mahaling Stadium in Odisha’s Balangir district were charred.
The DIG told a presser that a long unburnt piece of bone was sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) along with samples of Mamita’s parents. “The DNA test report stated that the source of the portion of the femur bone was that of the biological daughter of Suchandra Meher and Tulsi Meher,” he added.
A few burnt portions of small bones, recovered from the spot when Govinda Sahu was taken to the crime scene, were sent to the CDFD in Hyderabad for a mitochondrial DNA test. “As the bone was completely burnt, CDFD also could not diagnose the nuclear DNA,” he said.
He added that CDFD could only generate some part of ‘mitochondrial DNA’ from the burnt pieces of bones due to its unfavourable condition. “We also consulted the experts who were of the opinion that the test may produce a false negative report as the property of mitochondrial DNA can be altered due to heat sensitive reasons,” he added.
This clarification came hours after Debashish Panda, lawyer of the prime accused in the case Gobinda Sahu, claimed that the recovered body remains were not of the woman. “The DNA profile of the body remains didn’t match with that of Mamita’s parents. The Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD), Hyderabad, had earlier sent a report in this regard to the Balangir police,” he said, adding that Sahu thereafter should have been released from jail.
Sahu, who was managing committee president of Sunshine School where Mamita worked, allegedly died by suicide on Tuesday at Kantabanji jail before his appearance in a local court.
