No body can stop his quest for son

Police claim boy kidnapped in 2003 has been murdered, but his father refuses to believe their ‘forensic evidence’

The testimony of Dr Rukmini Krishnamurthy, director of Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina, at Sewree fast track court on Monday, came as a vindication of sorts to the hapless Kunjbihari Agarwal. Agarwal, 50, refuses to believe that his son, Raj, missing since 2003, has been murdered.

Police produced “forensic evidence” in 2005 claiming that Raj, who was kidnapped on November 18, 2003, as a 14-year-old, had been murdered. Vouching for them was Dr Harish Pathak, then an assistant in forensic medicine and toxicology from LT Municipal (Sion) Hospital, who stated the body found by police on the banks of Bhima River in Daund, Pune district, was “most probably” that of Raj. But Raj’s businessman father did not buy the police story, and refused to claim the body.

On Monday, Dr Krishnamurthy’s testimony raised doubts about the credentials of Dr Pathak, MD in forensic medicine. The former told the court, “An expert recruited for DNA testing and analysis should have an MSc in biochemistry or chemistry, should be working in a biology department, and trained at national-level laboratories equipped with DNA testing facility.” She added that an expert conducting superimposition tests has to be qualified in biology serology and has to be trained in the technique.

Dr Pathak admitted during cross-examination that his expertise in DNA testing and superimposition were a result of participation in brief workshops. He also admitted that neither Indian Medical Council nor Maharashtra Medical Council had certified him as an expert in forensic science.

Police have so far arrested 12 accused who had allegedly conspired to kidnap and kill Raj, and dispose of his body. The case is being heard at Sewree fast track court.
Prior to that, Agarwal had moved Bombay high court when the cops failed to find Raj, alleging officer Sanjeevan Kamble had played mediator between the kidnappers and himself, and made him cough up Rs5 lakh “to be sent to Abu Dhabi”.

The high court pulled up the cops, following which crime branch took over the probe. It soon arrested 12 people in connection with the kidnapping. The accused led them to a decomposed body of a school kid (in uniform) on the Bhima river banks, said the sleuths.

However, Agarwal refused to claim the body. “Police took me to Daund, but did not show me the body. They showed me a photograph of a clothed skeleton, which they claimed was dug out. The uniform on the skeleton was not my son’s. The clothes were spotlessly clean,” said Agarwal.

To stress their point, police brandished two DNA tests conducted in Hyderabad. One was negative, but the other said that the genes in the decomposed body belonged to someone from the Agarwal family. Analysising both the tests, Dr Pathak concluded that the body found by police was “most probably” that of Raj. Dr Pathak also conducted a digital superimposition photography examination, involving superimposition of the skull of the body on an enlarged photograph of Raj, and stated that the skull “could belong to the person depicted in the photograph”.

On Monday, defence lawyer Khan Abdul Wahab examined Dr Krishnamurthy, and her testimony vindicated the belief of Agarwal, who had been crying hoarse for years that the DNA analysis and superimposition test reports cited by police were false.

“The second DNA test was conducted without my consent, using old samples of my blood. Both the DNA and superimposition tests were done by Dr Pathak, who was not even qualified to do the job,” Agarwal told DNA. He has lodged a complaint with Maharastra Medical Council against Pathak, and probe has been initiated.

Meanwhile, Raj’s unclaimed body still lies in a mortuary.