Dhaka: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has commenced the process of collecting DNA samples from the relatives of 16 victims who perished in a catastrophic fire in the Mirpur area of the capital. This initiative aims to facilitate the identification and subsequent handover of the bodies to their respective families.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, CID’s special police superintendent for media, Jasim Uddin Khan, revealed that DNA samples from six families have already been gathered at the CID forensic lab as of 11:55 am today. This step is crucial as multiple families have laid claims to some of the bodies, necessitating DNA profiling to avert any possible confusion during the handover process.
Sub-Inspector Muklesur Rahman Laskar of Rupnagar Police Station confirmed to the media that the bodies of the 16 victims will only be released to their families after the completion of DNA profiling. Inquest reports for all the recovered bodies have already been prepared in advance of this process.
The Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) has begun collecting bone and tissue samples from the deceased. Six of the bodies have undergone autopsies today under the supervision of CID forensic lab examiner Md Masud Rabbi. Rabbi announced that the remaining samples would be collected the following day, urging relatives to provide their DNA samples at the CID Headquarters lab in Malibagh at 9:00 am on Thursday, to ensure accurate victim identification.
The devastating fire erupted on Tuesday morning, affecting a ready-made garment (RMG) factory and a nearby chemical warehouse. While firefighters managed to recover 16 bodies from the garment factory and send them to DMCH morgue, the fire in the chemical warehouse posed a greater challenge. Although the blaze in the RMG factory was put out the same day, efforts to control the fire in the chemical warehouse continued into Wednesday afternoon, with officials indicating a protracted battle to completely extinguish it.