M A I N   N E W S

Paternity Suit
Tiwari gives blood sample for DNA test
Jotirmay Thapliyal/TNS

Dehradun, May 29
Falling in line with the Supreme Court’s directive, veteran Congressman Narian Dutt Tiwari today gave his blood samples for DNA profiling in a paternity suit filed by Rohit Shekhar, who has been claiming that the octogenarian leader is his biological father.

Rohit Shekhar and his mother Ujjwala Sharma outside ND Tiwari's Dehradun residence.

The samples will now be sent to Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) at Hyderabad.

A team led by Chief Medical Superintendent Doon Hospital BC Pathak reached Tiwari’s residence “Anant Van” at 10.13 in the morning and came out at 2.15. It was accompanied by Dehradun District Judge Raj Krishna, Rohit Shekhar and his mother Ujjawala Sharma and a Joint Registrar of the Delhi High Court. Later, interacting with mediapersons, Rohit Sekhar, who has in 2008 filed the paternity suit in the Delhi HC, said he was apprehensive of test results being manipulated.

“Tiwari could now go for manipulations at Hyderabad laboratory as he has been for long trying to avoid giving his blood sample”, he said.

Sekhar said his struggle was meant to prove that Tiwari was his biological father and thus set a precedent for others. “I want to remove the “B” word from the dictionary”, he pointed out.

Rohit’s mother Ujjawala Sharma said she was hopeful that justice will finally be done to her son. She said it took a long legal battle to force Tiwari to give his blood sample.

The police made elaborate security arrangements at Tiwari’s residence during the day. Apart from octogenarian leader’s close aides, his nephew Manish Tiwari was also present at the time when the samples were taken.

Tiwari did not talk to the media and a later in the evening a statement issued on his behalf said he would not talk to reporters as the matter was sub-judice.

Sources revealed Tiwari had a short conversation with Rohit and asked him about his education. The apex court had recently rejected 88-year-old Tiwari's plea that he was too old to give his blood sample.