British experts arrive to help identify body, allegedly of Kashmir hostage

Mukthar Ahmad in Srinagar

Two British experts from Scotland Yard arrived on Wednesday to help the Jammu and Kashmir government find out whether an unidentified body exhumed from a grave belonged to one of the Kashmir hostages. They will perform various advanced tests on the samples collected from the body by forensic experts.

The two Scotland Yard experts, Crawford and Bruce Haskins, after their arrival in Srinagar met forensic laboratory chief Dr R L Dhar and other experts, who briefed them about the tests conducted so far in Srinagar and in New Delhi.

Haskins said, "We are here merely to assist the Jammu and Kashmir police and the Indian authorities." He, however, declined to give details, suggesting we contact Kashmir Range police chief Gill, who is currently in New Delhi. He is expected back on Thursday. Sources said experts at the Central Forensic Laboratory are also conducting advanced DNA tests on the samples.

Though the locals at Akingham village in South Kashmir identified the body as that of foreign militant Zia-ud-Din, police officials suspect the body may be of one of the Western hostages.

"It will take us some time to identify the body. We zeroed on the grave at Akingham village following information provided by a captured militant," the Jammu and Kashmir police chief Gurbachan Jagat told this correspondent last week.

But the villagers at Akingham asserted that Zia-ud-Din, the foreign militant from Pakistan, was killed in a fierce gun battle with security forces two years ago. Nothing is known about the fate of the four tourists, American Donald Hutchings, two Britons Paul Wells and Keith Mangan, and German Dirk Hasert. They were abducted by the Al-Faran on July 4, 1995.

EARLIER REPORT:
Hostage crisis nears its climax