Int'l level DNA profiling possible in Bangladesh

The chief of National Forensic DNA Profiling Laboratory (NFDPL) has refuted claims that DNA profiling of murdered journalist couple Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi was not possible in the country.
The NFDPL chief, Prof Sharif Akhteruzzaman, said they read about the claims from recent newspaper reports.
He told a press conference at Nuclear Medicine Building of Dhaka Medical College yesterday.
Rab Media Wing Director Commander M Sohail, after a press conference at Rab headquarters yesterday, said a High Court order stated that samples from the murder could be sent abroad for DNA profiling if deemed necessary.
NFDPL, established with the ministry's assistance, was of international standard considering its technical capability, equipment and trained manpower, said Prof Sharif.
Established in 2006, NFDPL conducted DNA tests on 6,481 evidences of 1,832 cases till date and its reports, including the identification of the army officers in the Pilkhana massacre, were lauded, he said.
On the detection of a person's DNA profile from Runi's T-shirt, Prof Sharif said it could be one of the many people who arrived on the crime scene after the murder and touched the bodies.
Sagar, news editor of Maasranga television, and Runi, a senior reporter at ATN Bangla, were killed in their West Rajabazar apartment in the capital on February 11, 2012.