Top cop recalls Air India crash as his ‘most painful’ memory

The tragedy is etched in his memory not just for its scale, but for the haunting images of charred bodies pulled from the wreckage.

Ahmedabad: A year after the devastating Air India crash in Ahmedabad killed 260 persons, Gujarat’s Director General of Police Gyanendra Singh Malik still carries the weight of that fateful day, describing it as the “most painful” chapter of his career.

The tragedy is etched in his memory not just for its scale, but for the haunting images of charred bodies pulled from the wreckage.

Yet amid the grief, Malik recalls the extraordinary speed and precision of the emergency response. The DNA matching system deployed after the crash probably became one of the fastest identification operations ever conducted globally, Malik told PTI.

Within just 30 minutes of the disaster, more than 500 police personnel were mobilised. Green corridors were set up for fire tenders and ambulances, while security arrangements were swiftly put in place, he said, lauding the emergency response personnel for their discipline and duty amid the unimaginable loss.

For perhaps the first time, relatives of the victims received all essential documents — from post-mortem and DNA reports to FIR copies and inquest records — directly on-site, ensuring they would not need to return later for insurance or legal formalities, Malik noted.

The London-bound Air India flight AI-171 crashed near Ahmedabad airport at 1.41 pm on June 12 last year, killing 260 persons, including 241 passengers and crew members on board and 19 others, including individuals at a nearby medical facility.

Malik, who then served as the Police Commissioner of Ahmedabad, said their top priority was to ensure that relatives of the deceased received the properly identified bodies as quickly as possible, and the work proceeded fast.

The speed with which the entire operation of DNA identification and the handover of the bodies was conducted was remarkable, he noted.

“The process was very smooth, and the coordination and cooperation among everyone involved was excellent. However, it remains the most painful incident of my entire career,” the top police official said.

Within two minutes of the crash, Malik said, he received a call from the control room informing him of the accident.

“I immediately set out and arrived at the site within 10 to 15 minutes, before 2 pm. By the time I got there, our police force, the fire brigade, and other emergency services were already on the scene,” Malik said, as he recalled the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

The sight of charred bodies being recovered on the ground was “very painful,” he said.

Within half an hour, more than 500 police personnel were on the ground to create green corridors for fire tenders and ambulances, divert traffic, and tighten security across the crash site, he recalled.

“Coordination with the municipal corporation and local administration was crucial. Our top priority was ensuring that the relatives of the deceased received the bodies—properly identified—as quickly as possible,” the DGP said.

To achieve this, authorities deployed a DNA testing system to swiftly match samples from relatives with the victims before the bodies were handed over, he said.

“This was likely one of the fastest operations of its kind globally. To give you an example: the crash occurred at 1.41 pm on June 12, and by 8:30 pm that day, we had submitted samples from 51 relatives to the Ahmedabad DNA facility – we collected the samples in less than seven hours following the crash,” the official pointed out.

“At 12.19 on June 13, less than 11 hours after the crash, we had already sent the first DNA samples from the burnt bodies to Gandhinagar,” the DGP added.

DNA samples from the deceased were primarily processed in Gandhinagar, while those from relatives were handled in Ahmedabad.

“The work proceeded so rapidly that the first body identified without DNA—specifically, one of the victims found on the ground who died due to the crash—was handed over to their relatives at 8.30 am on June 13. This was accomplished in less than 20 hours,” he noted.

Even in standard road accident cases, he said, the police process usually takes a full day before the body is handed over to relatives.

“We managed this much faster. Regarding the bodies handed over after DNA matching, the first one was released at 3.19 pm on June 14, less than 50 hours after the crash, with all formalities completed. The speed of the operation was remarkable,” the official said.

The victims’ relatives received all the necessary documents, such as the post-mortem report, identification records, DNA report, FIR copy, station diary entry, and inquest report, directly on-site, Malik said.

This on-site delivery of documents was perhaps done for the first time, to ensure the relatives wouldn’t have to return later to collect paperwork for insurance claims and other matters, he added.