Ahmedabad: In a major accident at Sangani village near Chotila in Surendranagar district on Thursday, four persons were charred to death, and 10 others were injured when a private bus collided with a tanker on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway in the early hours. The bus caught fire immediately after the collision, leaving the victims’ bodies burnt beyond recognition.Officials at the Directorate of Forensic Sciences (DFS), Gandhinagar, on Saturday said that the DNA identification report of the victims was handed over to investigating police officials the same day. The swift identification process was completed within a span of 24 hours, they added.“Extreme heat leads to extensive destruction of soft tissues, facial features, and other conventional identifying characteristics. In such situations, scientific identification through DNA analysis becomes essential. In this case, biological samples including bone and teeth were collected, along with blood samples of their relatives. The matching was carried out at the DNA division of the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), Rajkot,” said H P Sanghavi, director of DFS.Despite the severe thermal damage to the samples, forensic scientists of the DNA Division successfully developed DNA profiles from the highly charred remains. Kinship analysis was then conducted by comparing the DNA profiles of the deceased with those of their biological relatives, officials added. They noted that the four deceased included two related individuals.Investigators stated that the timely identification helps in handing over the mortal remains to families for last rites and legal procedures. Notably, the same method was used in high-profile cases such as the AI171 airplane crash in Ahmedabad in 2025 and the gaming zone fire in Rajkot in 2024, among others.
