Mumbai: With Nepal suspending all non-essential search and rescue operations on Monday, 40 days after the devastating floods on Aug 26, the state govt has begun the process for families of those still missing from Maharashtra to get death certificates.
It has written to the ministry of external affairs and the Indian embassies in Nepal and China seeking confirmation on the people missing from Maharashtra. The Nepal govt website lists 12 from Maharashtra as still missing, but the state disaster management cell has pegged the number at 64, including NRIs.
Following a call for DNA samples to identify victims, the cell sent DNA samples for 47 missing persons. “We got acknowledgement of the receipt of the samples but there has been no communication thereafter,” said a senior official. “Nobody has communicated anything to us so far. We need this communication on paper so that we can tell the various departments such as the birth and death registration office to issue a certificate so that the final rites can be completed.”
A majority of the 64 missing persons were part of a group, led by veteran mountaineer Dr Milind Chitale, undertaking the
Kailash Mansarovar yatra when disaster struck. Their last known location was the Timure immigration gate bordering China, which was one of the areas worst affected by the flash floods.
The wait for closure has been agonising for the families of Gayatri and Anand Deshpande, Sunil Subhedar, and Rekha and Satish Patankar from MMR. Their hopes had been briefly revived when people were rescued from isolated locations days after the tragedy. Satish’s brother had earlier said the family was still hoping for a miracle. His son, who is based in the UK, had provided a DNA sample, said the couple’s friends. The Deshpandes, the Patankars and Subhedar were childhood friends. “We speak to their children and brothers every other day. The families are now in a dilemma over whether to go ahead with shradh rituals and insurance procedures or continue waiting. Govt should bring more clarity now,” said Avinash Mohogaonkar, their school and college friend from Nagpur.
Families are also worried about insurance claims, bank accounts, property and other formalities. Nepal has said it is initiating legal processes to facilitate declaring missing persons dead for insurance and administrative purposes. But the end of a search operation, by itself, is not a death certificate.
Indian law also draws an important distinction. Section 111 of Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, provides for a presumption concerning a person who has not been heard from for seven years by those who would naturally have heard from them. It does not mean a disaster victim is legally presumed dead merely because a search operation has ended.
DNA remains the thread between hope and certainty. But for the families, the absence of a match has created an emotional vacuum—no confirmation of death, but no evidence of survival either.
