Vidisha/Raisen, DNA samples of family members of Vidisha engineer Swati Bagrecha and two workers from Raisen, who have been missing since the Nepal flash floods, will be collected as Nepal has begun using DNA tests to identify victims, officials said on Friday.
The family had contacted the Canadian and Indian embassies in Nepal, seeking help in tracing Swati. Six workers from the Mandideep-based company had travelled to Nepal for the hydropower project. Her 14-year-old daughter Anushka had stayed behind with her elder sister in Mumbai, according to the family. Contact was established with four of them after nearly 48 hours, but there has been no information about Rajput and Shakya, according to the district administration.
Amid their agonising wait for updates, a letter from the Canadian government has reached the family of Swati, who moved there after marriage and was based in Toronto, in connection with the DNA testing, her relatives said. The family will soon meet Vidisha Superintendent of Police Rohit Kashwani to seek permission for the testing, following which the health department will collect DNA samples and complete the formalities, officials said. SP Kashwani said the authorities would collect the samples from Swati’s family members and complete the testing process as per rules after discussions with them. Her phone’s location logs had indicated activity somewhere near the Chinese border, but tracing the device had proved difficult as the number was registered in Toronto, Prashant had said. The families of the two workers are hoping for their safe return, while the district administration remains in contact with the company for updates, officials said.
