Ahmedabad plane crash: No DNA match yet for ex-Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, says hospital official; 12 bodies handed over to families so far

NEW DELHI: Authorities have not yet been able to identify the remains of former Gujarat chief ministerVijay Rupani, who was among the 241 passengers killed in Thursday’s Air India Flight 171 crash.Dr Rajnish Patel, additional medical superintendent at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, confirmed on Sunday, “We have not yet found a DNA match for the former CM Vijay Rupani.”So far, 31 victims have been identified through DNA testing and 12 bodies handed over to families — including passengers from Udaipur, Kheda, Vadodara, Visnagar and Ahmedabad.The delay in identification has prolonged the wait for Rupani’s family and supporters, even as Rajkot — his hometown — observed a half-day shutdown on Saturday to mourn his death.Shops, businesses and around 600 private and grant-in-aid schools remained shut till afternoon following an appeal by the Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry.Rupani, a two-time chief minister who served from 2016 to 2021, was also the BJP's in-charge for Punjab. He was travelling to London aboard AI-171, a Boeing Dreamliner that crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad airport.