Centre for DNA Fingerprinting in the city helped establish that Salman Khan’s kill was a black buck. A Jodhpur Court on Thursday relied on tthe DNA evidence to convict the actor.
G.V. Rao, a former CDFD scientist, developed a technique to identify a black buck from exhumed bone and skin samples. “The forest department simply did not want to know that the samples belonged to an antelope. They wanted to know which member of antelope species the bones and skin belonged to,” said Dr. Rao, adding that this species-specific response was instrumental in building the prosecution’s case for killing an endangered animal.
In 1999, a year after the kill, when the forest department approached Dr. Rao, whole genome sequencing was not the norm, nor was automation. “We developed a technique based on PCR to look for markers in a black buck genome. These markers were based on three specific DNA regions that distinguishes a black buck from its nearest relative Chincara and common deer,” he said.
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In 2016, Dr. Rao was summoned to depose in court, where he explained how he developed the technique and how it works. Ever since the invention, Dr. Rao has gone on to identify a black buck from remains in nearly half a dozen cases, besides providing similar evidence in other high-profile cases, including a dinner party from 1998 where former speaker G.M.C. Balayogi was allegedly present.