Jammu, March 6
The state Assembly today witnessed noisy scenes when the CPM member, Mr M.Y.Tarigami, raised the issue of tampering with the blood samples of the relatives of the five persons who had been killed by the security forces in Anantnag district in March, 2000. The samples had been sent to the DNA centre in Hyderabad.

Mr Tarigami was on his feet as the sitting of the House started but the Speaker prevented him from raising the issue. He told Mr Tarigami to raise the issue after question hour.

When Mr Tarigami and some Opposition members were on their feet again soon after question hour the Chief Minister, Dr Farooq Abdullah, informed the House that two blood samples were sent to the DNA centre in Hyderabad and another to a centre in Kolkata. He said the report from Hyderabad needed further clarification and hence, fresh samples were being sent to the centre. However, the report from Kolkata was awaited.

He told Mr Tarigami and others who were waiving a newspaper report that till reports from both the centres were not available, the newspaper report could not be said to be correct.

The newspaper report had stated that after the relatives of five persons killed in operations launched by the security forces in Anantnag district last year staged protest rallies with the help of local people on the plea that those killed were innocent and not involved in the carnage in Chatti Singhpora village, the five bodies were exhumed and blood samples of the bodies and their relations were collected and sent to the DNA centres in Kolkata and Hyderabad.