Youth missing in Russia: Kin’s DNA test delayed

The district authorities here are yet to conduct a DNA test upon the mother of a youth who had gone missing in Russia after allegedly being recruited in the army there for combat duties in Ukraine.

Last month, the Russian authorities had sought DNA test reports of the kin of 16 Indian youths, including two from Punjab.

The DNA test of the mother of Budh Ram, a resident of Kalyan village in Malerkotla, was to be conducted promptly after an official communication was made to the Civil Surgeon on January 31, a senior district official said.

Budh Ram had last talked to his parents over the phone in March last year, leaving the family worried about the youth’s fate.

According to family members, they have been asked to wait for a couple of days . “Now, we have been asked to wait till somebody takes us to a Kharar laboratory for the test,” said Gurmel Singh, Budh Ram’s father.

Malerkotla Assistant Commissioner (General) Malerkotla Gurmit Bansal said the Civil Surgeon was asked on January 31 to get the DNA test done without charging any fee from the victim’s family, immediately after receiving instructions from the Indian embassy in Moscow.