Gujarat: DNA confirms identity of woman in 1992 murder case

Ahmedabad: The city crime branch on Friday confirmed that the skeletal remains recovered from a Vatva property belong to Farzana Radhanpuri, signifying a major breakthrough in a murder case dating back to 1992.A senior crime branch officer said the DNA examination conducted on the remains returned a positive match with the samples from Farzana's family. "Now, an FIR is being registered," the officer said.The remains were exhumed on April 29 from a septic tank area at a property in Qutubnagar of Vatva during an investigation into the decades-old disappearance of Farzana. Police had recovered bones and teeth buried deep underground after receiving specific inputs related to the property.Earlier, forensic experts had indicated that the skeletal remains were likely those of a female and that the estimated height matched Farzana's description.However, investigators were awaiting DNA confirmation because of the deteriorated condition of the remains.Officials said the forensic process was particularly challenging due to the age of the case. Police suspect salt may have been used to accelerate decomposition and destroy evidence.The hardened and calcified bones had to be carefully processed before viable DNA samples could be extracted.The crime branch has already traced the prime suspect, Shamshuddin Khedawala, who was earlier believed to be dead.Police said he had been living on the outskirts of Ahmedabad and working as a taxi driver after leaving his Jamalpur residence in 2015.Police suspect property and marital disputes may have been the motive behind the alleged murder. Police are also probing the nature of the relationship between Farzana and the accused and the circumstances leading to her disappearance over three decades ago.
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