India has, for the first time, laid down a comprehensive framework to identify victims of mass fatality disasters, placing forensic dentistry at the heart of the process. Released recently by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) guidelines aim to ensure that human remains are accurately identified, documented and handed over to families with dignity after large-scale disasters.
The move follows repeated challenges faced during recent disasters, including transport accidents, fires and natural calamities, where many victims could not be identified through conventional means such as visual recognition or fingerprints.
Lessons from mass disasters shape a national framework
Officials involved in drafting the guidelines said the absence of a unified identification mechanism had resulted in prolonged delays, legal disputes and emotional distress for families. The document brings together multiple branches of forensic science under a single operational structure, defining clear roles for police, health authorities, disaster responders and forensic experts.
The guidelines outline a four-stage identification process beginning with systematic recovery of human remains from disaster sites, followed by post-mortem examination and documentation. This is then matched with ante-mortem data collected from families and official records before final reconciliation and certification of identity.
Experts also highlight the growing relevance of digital evidence. Mobile phones recovered from disaster sites can now play a role in identification, as they often contain photographs, personal documents and biometric data that help establish identity when physical features are destroyed.
Gaps in India’s current identification system
The guidelines acknowledge serious structural gaps in India’s existing disaster response system. These include the absence of a designated DVI incident commander, limited capacity to collect ante-mortem data, and a shortage of trained forensic professionals. Overburdened forensic laboratories and inconsistent tagging and documentation of remains further increase the risk of misidentification.
Natural disasters pose additional challenges, as floods, landslides and earthquakes often lead to commingling or fragmentation of bodies, while extreme heat and humidity accelerate decomposition. Transport-related disasters, fires and industrial accidents can result in charred or chemically contaminated remains, making standard identification methods ineffective.
Climate change is flagged as a critical risk multiplier, with more frequent extreme events expected to increase the scale and complexity of future mass fatality incidents.
Why dental records could be decisive
A key recommendation of the guidelines is the creation of a National Dental Data Registry. Drawing from Interpol’s global DVI protocols, the document identifies dental examination as one of the three primary scientific identifiers, alongside fingerprints and DNA.
During the Ahmedabad aircraft crash last year, forensic odontologists played a crucial role in identifying victims whose remains were severely burnt or fragmented. Teeth and dental work often survive extreme heat and trauma, making them reliable markers when other methods fail.
The guidelines urge citizens to preserve dental treatment records and stress the value of clear dental photographs for identification. Experts argue that institutionalising dental data could significantly reduce identification time in future disasters.
The inclusion of forensic archaeology marks a significant expansion of India’s forensic toolkit. The discipline applies systematic excavation techniques to recover human remains from complex environments such as landslides, collapsed buildings and buried sites.
The guidelines draw from ongoing projects in northeastern India, where forensic teams are exhuming and identifying remains of World War II soldiers decades after their deaths. These methods, officials say, are equally relevant for modern disaster scenarios where remains are deeply buried or scattered.
By standardising Disaster Victim Identification across agencies and disciplines, the NDMA hopes the new framework will reduce errors, speed up identification and provide closure to families during some of the most traumatic moments they face.