Namrita Chandani case: Shoddy handling of forensic samples leads to inconclusive reports

Latest reports sent back by NADRA and a Lahore-based forensic lab have found no DNA on the victim's scarf

HYDERABAD: The cause of death of Bibi Aseefa Dental College student, Namrita Chandani, still seems to be eluding the investigators as two more reports regarding samples of the fingerprints and Chandani's scarf have led to naught. The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and a Lahore-based forensic laboratory have shared their respective reports with the Larkana district police.

However, as the reports indicate and the police sources confirm, the amateurish preservation of the samples did not help the authorities come up with any substantial findings. "No skin tissues or stains of blood could be found in the scarf from which we could have obtained the DNA," the forensic report reportedly states.

The belated sharing of Chandani's scarf is believed to have caused the disappearance of the tissues or blood stains. The samples of the deceased student's nails were also sent for the forensic exam which could have helped determine if suicide or murder was the cause of her death.

Chandani was found dead in her hostel room on September 16. The university and the police initially said she had likely committed suicide but her family rebutted their assessment, terming it a murder. The Sindh High Court, subsequently, set up a judicial inquiry under Larkana district and session judge which is yet to conclude the inquest. The SHC extended the inquiry's month-long tenure by another one month. The extended time will end in early December.

The Larkana police had provided 11 fingerprint cards to NADRA. The police had collected those fingerprints from the crime scene after the incident. The NADRA, in its report, stated that it did not find probable matches in its database through the Automated Fingerprints Identification System (AFIS).

"Match couldn't be found due to low quality of the obtained fingerprints," NADRA's director general for coordination, Mohammed Zubair Amir, stated in his letter to SSP Larkana. The fingerprint cards were submitted to NADRA for the identification around a month after the incident.

The Larkana police were reluctant for the NADRA identification because many people had entered Chandani's hostel room, including the inmates, staff and the varsity authorities, before police reached the crime scene. The police believed that sending the cards for the identification could have led to further confusion. The fingerprints were later sent to NADRA on the directives of the judicial inquiry.

The student's postmortem report, issued earlier this month, also remained inconclusive. The Chandka Medical College Hospital's Dr Amrita, who conducted the postmortem, in her report left it to the police to investigate if murder or suicide was the cause of her death. The postmortem also did not establish rape although it did point out that a sexual act had been committed with her.

"The DNA test report ... detected male DNA profile obtained from semen stains or sperm fractions ... indicating sexual act with the deceased," the report states. "Death of the deceased showed asphyxiation signs. These signs are produced either from strangulation or hanging to be ascertained on circumstantial evidence [by the police]," stated the report.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2019.