Remains of another day

Published : Jan 22, 2000 00:00 IST

PRAVEEN SWAMI

NO one yet knows what the family of Paul Wells, when they bury his remains, will think of the hostages-for-terrorists swap at Kandahar. Like the passengers on IC 814, Wells was one of a group of six Western hostages kidnapped in July 1995 to demand Harka t-ul-Ansar chief Masood Azhar's release. The Congress(I) Government in New Delhi refused to cave in, despite intense pressure. All that remains of Wells now are a few bones and some hair in a plastic container.

Forensic test results that came in just after New Year's Eve confirmed that a body recovered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in the autumn of 1997 is that of Wells, a British national. Wells and five others were kidnapped by al-Faran, a front organisatio n for the Harkat-ul-Ansar. The test results confirm what investigators have long believed: that Wells was murdered just before Christmas Eve, 1995, probably followed in quick time by the killings of three other hostages who are still officially treated a s missing.

Experts at the Forensic Science Laboratory in Calcutta found that DNA samples collected from the hair and bones matched blood samples of Wells' parents, made available by authorities in the United Kingdom. Wells' remains were found buried in a graveyard at Ikangam village near Kokernag in southern Kashmir, 65 km from Srinagar. Investigators from the U.S., the U.K., and Germany had been involved in earlier searches, which however met with little success.

It was 16 months after Azhar was arrested by the Border Security Force in February 1994 that the six persons were kidnapped. One of the group, Hans Christen Ostro, was soon beheaded to push Western governments to force India into a hostages-for-terrorist s swap. U.S. national John Childs succeeded in escaping, while nothing was known for certain about the fate of the remaining four, although circumstantial evidence suggested that they were dead too. The U.S. pushed India to allow its military experts to handle the matter, a move the Army only just managed to avert.

Indian investigators made their first breakthrough in determining the fate of the five in April 1996 with the arrest of Harkat-ul-Ansar terrorist Nazir Mehmood, a resident of Rawalkot in Pakistan. Mehmood, now in a Jammu jail, told his interrogators that furious Harkat-ul-Ansar cadre, disappointed that Western governments were unable to secure a deal, executed U.S. national Donald Hutchings, German national Dirk Hassert, and British national Keith Mannigan on Christmas-eve, 1995. The executions followed the Indian Army's elimination of Harkat-ul-Ansar commander Hamid Turki at Doda days earlier.

A file photograph of the grave in Akingam village in southern Kashmir, from which the body of Paul Wells (at right,) one of six Western tourists who were abducted by Al-Faran in July 1995, was exhumed on September 20, 1997.

Mehmood failed, however, to lead investigators to the three bodies, or to throw any light on Wells' fate. That had to wait until the arrest of two more terrorists in the autumn of 1997 by a special team led by the Inspector-General of Police for Kashmir, P.S. Gill, and Anantnag Senior Superintendent of Police Ashkoor Wani. The team learned that Wells had been buried in Ikangam, after having been strangled to death by his kidnappers when a bout of jaundice left him unable to walk. Mehmood's account of th e killings is affirmed by the fact that no other bodies were found near that of Wells.

When the body, wrapped in a dull grey shawl, was exhumed on September 20, 1997, its height and the colour of its hair had suggested that it might well be that of Wells. So did the fact that it had been buried without Islamic rites. People from local vill ages, however, said they had been told the body was that of an Afghan terrorist, Zia-ud-Din, who had been killed in an encounter. Specimens were sent to laboratories in Hyderabad and Calcutta for tests. The overworked laboratories accorded priority to on going investigations, leading to the prolonged delay in establishing the identity.

Paul Wells was the second person to be killed by Harkat-ul-Ansar squads seeking Azhar's release. In October 1994, Sheikh had kidnapped a group of tourists from New Delhi's Paharganj area. Inspector Abhay Singh Yadav of the Uttar Pradesh Police was killed when commandos stormed Sheikh's safehouse at Saharanpur in the course of a successful rescue operation. In the subsequent kidnapping of Wells' group, Sheikh's release was also a key demand.

Relatives of the Western hostages repeatedly travelled to Kashmir, asking terrorist groups at least to disclose to their families where they had been buried. In the recent interview, Jane Schelley, Donald Hutchings' wife, expressed dismay over Azhar's re lease, describing him as "completely cold and unhelpful". Wells' partner also travelled to Kashmir during early visits by relatives, but has not been visibly active in Schelley's ongoing and persistent campaign.

Curiously, there has been a muted response from the U.K. to the tests establishing Wells' identity. Some media reports have claimed that forensic tests carried out there did not tally with those made in India. However, there has been no official affirmat ion of this claim, and no report of this kind was sent to Indian investigators in the three years since 1997. Forensic scientists in New Delhi say that the facilities in Calcutta are on a par with the best in the world, and that a testing error is unlike ly.

Ironically, Wells' remains had been almost destroyed even as scientists completed their tests. The bones and hair were stored at the headquarters of the Jammu and Kashmir Police Special Operations Group in Shergadi, Srinagar. When Harkat-ul-Mujahideen te rrorists stormed the building in December last year as part of a series of Ramzan-period attacks, much of the complex was destroyed. Amazingly, even as rockets fired to kill the terrorists brought down much of the building, Wells' remains were untouched.

THE Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Calcutta, which carried out the DNA tests, found that the DNA samples matched those from blood samples from Wells' parents.

CFSL Director Dr. R.K. Tiwari told Frontline that the two most modern methods used in DNA testing, the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique and the Short Tandem Repeat method, were applied in the case. These methods are used when the DNA sample obt ained is very small or contaminated. "In the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique, thousands - sometimes millions - of copies are made of the DNA sample to facilitate examination and tests. The Short Tandem Repeat method is also used for the same purpose, " Tiwari said.

According to Tiwari, the method used for DNA testing in Paul Wells' case was no different from the one used in other cases. The first step was to extract the DNA using chemical scissors. Then the DNA sample was isolated from other DNA samples present and purified. Tiwari said: "Locard's Principle states that when two bodies come into contact with each other, they pass on some physical matter to each other, so it is important to isolate the DNA sample which is to be tested." After purification, the ampli fication was done using both the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique and the Short Tandem Repeat method.

Following amplification, the DNA sample is placed on a transparent gel, on which it spreads and sticks. It is then illuminated by using radioisotopes or chemilluminicense. According to Tiwari, the CFSL has both these facilities, but the radioisotope meth od is outdated. The sample thus illuminated is then photographed with an ultra-violet filter so that only that part of illumination which is needed is got. After this, the DNA matching takes place. This can be done either visually or using computers. The average time taken by the laboratory to come to a conclusion following tests is between seven and 10 days.

According to Tiwari, the DNA test results conducted in the laboratory are highly accurate. "Our laboratory is on par with any laboratory in the world. We use the most modern methods and have an excellent team of experts in this field," said Tiwari.

with inputs from Suhrid Sankar Chattopadhyay in Calcutta.

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