Authorities have expanded DNA sampling to 195 individuals as part of the investigation into the death of 21-year-old university student Rojin Kabaiş, who went missing on Sept. 27 last year and was found dead on Oct. 15 along the shores of Van Lake.
In a statement on Nov. 18, the Van Bar Association’s Women’s Rights Center said its president, Sinan Özaras, and the association’s Case Monitoring Commission met with officials at the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to discuss the progress of the case and ensure the probe proceeds effectively.
According to the statement, the chief public prosecutor, deputy prosecutors and the case prosecutor will jointly oversee the investigation to expedite results.
Officials noted that DNA profiles of 134 people who may have come into contact with Kabaiş’s body during its transfer from the scene to the Forensic Medicine Institution in Van had already been compared with samples analyzed at the institution’s biology unit and the Van Gendarmerie Criminal Laboratory.
The number of profiles under comparison has now risen to 195, with samples also taken from dormitory and university security personnel.
The association said inquiries are underway regarding possible contamination linked to tubes found during the autopsy, including checks on suppliers, manufacturers and Forensic Medicine staff.
Addressing speculation about a “missing autopsy CD,” the association clarified that the item in question was only a copy, while the original materials remain with the Forensic Medicine Institution for examination; a request has been submitted for a duplicate from the original.
Kabaiş, a preschool education student at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University, was buried in the southern province of Diyarbakır on Oct. 16.
