Air India plane crash: DNA test confirms Gujarat filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala's death; family 'not ready to believe'

Air India plane crash: What began as a desperate hope for the search for a 'missing' husband, ended up in a tragedy for Gujarat filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala's family after his death was officially confirmed a week after the deadly plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12. The confirmation came after DNA test results matched his family's samples.
"They were not ready to believe his death," sources aware of the matter told NDTV.
Earlier, a burnt Activa scooter belonging to Jirawala was recovered from the site, raising suspicion that he may have been struck by the crashing aircraft. The Gujarati filmmaker's wife had also shared that Jirawala's mobile phone's last known location was 700 m away from the crash site.
Naroda-resident Mahesh Kalawadia, also known as Mahesh Jirawala, went to meet someone at Law Garden area on June 12 afternoon.
Mahesh Jirawala's wife, Hetal told news agency PTI that her husband had called her up around 1:14 pm, informing her that his meeting was over. At 1:40 pm — a minute after the deadly crash — Jirawala's phone was switched off. Remains of the crashed Air India plane lie on a building, in Ahmedabad
"His phone got switched off around 1:40pm. His scooter and mobile phone are missing. All this is unusual since he would never use that route (as per the last location) to come home. We have submitted DNA samples to check if he was one of those killed on the ground due to the crash," said Hetal.
A Naroda-resident, Mahesh Kalawadia, also known as Mahesh Jirawala used to direct music albums.
Mahesh Jirawala was a well-known name in Gujarat's music and short film circles. His directorial work spanned across various formats, but he was specially recognised for the 2019 Gujarati film Cocktail Premi: Paw of Revenge, which starred Asha Panchal and Vritti Thakkar, mentioned a report by Gujarat Samachar.
All but one, aboard the ill fated Air India flight, and 29 others on ground were killed on Thursday, June 12 after the Boeing Dreamliner crashed into BJ Medical College Hostel's mess.

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