Missing filmmaker confirmed dead in Ahmedabad Air India plane crash

Filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala, who had been missing since the Air Plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, was confirmed dead in the mishap by a DNA matching test. His mortal remains have been handed over to his family.

According to police, Jirawala, 34, was passing through the Meghaninagar area of the city on his two-wheeler when the aircraft went down minutes after taking off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport.

All but one of the 242 passengers on board the flight lost their lives in the crash, besides the 29 deaths on the ground.

Joint Commissioner of Police, Sector 2, Jaipalsinh Rathore said Jirawala’s family was still in shock and disbelief but the police managed to convince them after showing them the CCTV footage of the road and his burnt scooter.

Jirawala's family took his body on Friday after the DNA test confirmed his identity. His scooter, which was destroyed in the fire, was also recovered from near the crash site. The chassis and engine number also matched with the registration documents of the scooter," he said. 

 "To clear his family's doubts, we collected CCTV footage of that area to establish that he was indeed using that route for some time. His last mobile location was last traced close to the accident site," said Rathore.

Jirawala’s family said he used to direct music albums, and, on the day of the air crash, he had gone to meet someone at the Law Garden area.

Jirawala’s wife, Hetal, said at 1.14 pm he called her and said the meeting was over and that he was on his way back home. When he did not return, she called his number but found it switched off.

Police later recovered his mobile phone around 700 metres away from the crash site.