Son reunites with father, secures legal identity after 27 years through Ctg legal aid mediation

A 27-year-long search for identity ended in an emotional reunion in Chattogram yesterday (8 June) after a DNA test confirmed the biological relationship between a father and son, allowing the son to gain formal recognition and inheritance rights through mediation by the District Legal Aid Office.

Confirming the details, District Legal Aid Officer Subrata Das described the outcome as a rare and significant example of how mediation and legal assistance can help resolve long-standing family disputes and restore legal identity and family ties.

According to District Legal Aid Office officials, the son was born while his father was working abroad. His parents divorced shortly after his birth, and his mother later remarried.

Growing up with his maternal uncle, the child spent most of his life without knowing his father or receiving formal recognition from him.

In 2024, he filed a complaint with the District Legal Aid Office in Chattogram seeking recognition of paternity. The father maintained that he would only accept the claim if it was supported by a DNA test.

Following mediation efforts led by Subrata Das, the office facilitated DNA testing through two panel lawyers. Samples were collected from the mother, father, and son.

The breakthrough came yesterday when Chattogram Medical College Hospital submitted the DNA test report to the District Legal Aid Office.

The report confirmed with 99.99% certainty that the two were biologically father and son.

As part of the settlement, the father agreed to acknowledge the son publicly and grant him inheritance rights.

The son will now live at his father’s residence, and the father is expected to formally introduce him to local residents as his son after Jummah prayers on Friday (12 June).

The District Legal Aid Office also presented T-shirts to the father and son as a gesture marking the successful resolution of the case.

Family members expressed gratitude to the Legal Aid Office and its officials for helping reunite them.