In a significant development in a long-pending case, a special court in Mumbai has granted permission to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) to conduct a DNA test on an accused arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The test aims to conclusively establish the identity of Prashant Jalindar Kamble, who was apprehended in May 2025 in connection with a 2011 case involving the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Court's Rationale for the DNA Test
Special Judge C.S. Baviskar, in the order passed on January 3, stated that the scientific evidence from a DNA test would be crucial to prove whether Prashant Kamble and Sunil Chandrakant Jagtap are the same person. The court noted that while Kamble admitted to being Prashant Jalindar Kamble, he did not admit to being Sunil Jagtap.
"If one person poses himself to be another by taking a different name and prepares even false Government documents in that different name and does so not once but many times, certainly the identity of that person has to be established by cogent and satisfactory evidence," the judge observed. The court further added that the DNA test could also aid the defence if Kamble's claim of being a different person is true.
The Case and the Alleged Dual Identity
The ATS claims that Kamble was a member of the Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural group which the agency alleges was a "frontal organisation" of the CPI (Maoist). He was arrested in 2025, with investigators asserting he had been evading capture for 15 years by living under various assumed identities.
At the time of his arrest, Kamble was allegedly living and working in the tribal areas of Khalapur in Raigad district under the identity of "Sunil Jagtap sir," where he was involved in work with children. The ATS presented that he used multiple aliases including Rohit, Laptop, and Madhu. The agency also alleged that false documents, including an Aadhaar card in the name of Jagtap, were created for these identities.
Interestingly, during the proceedings, Kamble told the court that while he was not disputing his identity as Prashant Kamble, he consented to the DNA test "in the interest of administration of justice."
Next Steps in the Investigation
The court has directed that biological samples for DNA analysis can be taken from Kamble, who is currently lodged in the Mumbai Central Prison (Arthur Road jail). The order mandates that this be done by following all due procedures under applicable laws. This forensic step is seen as a move to put to rest the long-standing question of identity that has complicated the investigation.
The 2011 case saw the arrest of several members of the Kabir Kala Manch. The ATS's pursuit of Kamble, culminating in his 2025 arrest, underscores the prolonged nature of investigations into alleged unlawful activities. The court's permission for the DNA test adds a scientific layer to the process of establishing the accused's connection to the alleged alternate identity, which is central to the charges against him.
