Police send request for baby’s DNA profiling

Forensic experts at AIIMS on Wednesday received a requisition from Delhi Police for DNA profiling of the two-year-old baby.

The baby, who is battling for her life, was brought to the institute's trauma centre on January 18 by a 14-year-old girl, who claimed to be her mother. Doctors got suspicious of her when she failed to sufficiently answer questions related to the baby; she was handed over to the police. Since then the police have been on a quest to find the baby’s parents.

"We have received a written request from the investigating officer to get the DNA profiling done at AIIMS. We have replied to them and have asked them to fulfil the formalities. The hospital charges a particular amount per sample testing as a routine measure and it takes about a week to 10 days for the report to come," said a doctor in the department of forensic sciences, AIIMS.

Normally, blood sample is collected of a victim for DNA matching. But in this case there has been a history of blood transfusion, so the doctors said they will take cheek swab along with her blood sample to ensure more accuracy.

Confirming that they have sent the request, a Delhi Police officer said, "Preserving her blood and cheek swab samples would ensure that it could be used later to establish her parentage.”