Saineeta Chakravarti’s remains identified via DNA, handed over to kin

The mortal remains of Saineeta Chakravarti one of the 10 cabin crew members aboard the illfated Air India Flight AI171 were handed over to her family by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation in the early hours of Monday The identity of Chakravarti a Juhu Koliwada resident was confirmed the previous night with the help of DNA testingA police subinspector was tasked with accompanying the family to ensure the safe transport of the remains to Mumbai Air India also arranged a special flight for this purpose In the aftermath of the Ahmedabad plane crash DNA samples of 92 deceased individuals have been matched so far and 47 bodies have been handed over to their respective familiesSaineeta Chakravarti fondly known as Pinky lived in Juhu Koliwada for over a decade PicsBy Special arrangementAccording to Dr Rajnish Patel professor in the department of surgery at Ahmedabad Civil Hospital eight more bodies will soon be handed over The 47 bodies returned so far include victims from the districts of Kheda Ahmedabad Botad Mehsana Bharuch Aravalli Vadodara Junagadh Anand Mahisagar Gandhinagar and Bhavnagar in GujaratThe forensic teamFor the past four days the Forensic Science Laboratory FSL team has been working tirelessly on DNA profiling to quickly establish the identities of the deceased The team achieved a recordbreaking feat by identifying victims in less than 72 hours Out of the 54member DNA specialist team 22 are women all of whom have been dedicatedly engaged in the complex task of DNA profilingStreamlined processActing as per the directives from the state government the administration and the health department have accelerated the process of identifying the deceased and handing over their remains to their families The highly sensitive task of DNA sample matching is being carried out with the utmost seriousness and efficiency according to officialsMourners pay their respects to former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad yesterday PicNimesh DaveTo streamline this process a comprehensive system has been established by the state health department and civil hospital administration which includes everything from contacting the relatives to the actual handover of the bodiesArvind Vijay managing director of Gujarat Informatics Limited and nodal officer at Civil Hospital stated that a verification centre had been set up at Block D2 of the Civil Hospital Once DNA reports are received families are verified at this site Following verification the postmortem room is notified to begin preparing the remains for handoverWhile this process is underway families are seated in a designated waiting area where they are supported by a counsellor a medical team and a public relations officer PRO The relatives are thoroughly briefed about the procedure and legal documents that will be provided along with the remainsOnce the postmortem room completes the necessary steps the family is escorted by a PRO from Block D2 to receive the remains and legal documents mdash which include the death certificate accidental death report police investigation papers postmortem note and forensic report mentioning the DNA match mdash as well as any personal belongings or ornaments recoveredA dedicated team also assists in transporting the body to the familyrsquos residence A special task force has been assigned by the health department and the Civil Hospital to manage each case from start to finish This team includes a health worker a senior officer a police official and a professional counsellorThe Gujarat government has deployed 192 ambulances and 591 personnel mdash including doctors assistants and drivers mdash to ensure the smooth and respectful return of mortal remains To further assist families a help desk has been set up at Kasauti Bhavan BJ Medical College to coordinate with the control room and manage logistical arrangementsGujarat mourns former CMThe Gujarat government meanwhile accorded a solemn farewell to former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani honouring his legacy In the presence of incumbent Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel the mortal remains of the late leader were accorded a guard of honour in line with official protocol The remains were then handed over to his family including his wife and son with full state honoursAt Civil Hospital Patel was joined by Health Minister Rushikesh Patel Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi Cooperation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma Rajya Sabha MP Shri Mayank Nayak and several political leaders senior officials and community representatives who gathered to pay their respects On June 12 the state was plunged into mourning following the tragic passing of Shri Vijay Rupani in the plane crash His final rites will be performed in Rajkot