Eminent scientist and ‘father of DNA fingerprinting in India Lalji Singh died following a heart attack.
Singh was one of the leaders, instrumental in making DNA fingerprinting mainstream in India, both at the level of research as well as for forensic applications.
He was tasked by the government, in the late 1990s, to establish the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) with a mandate of making it a nodal centre for DNA fingerprinting and diagnostics for all species and several diseases.
Singh served as a director at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in Hyderabad from 1998 to 2009.It is notable that he is the founder of this centre.
He went on to become 25th Vice Chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University (2001 - 2014).
Until recently, he was active in the Genome Foundation, a non-profit organisation that aims to diagnose and treat genetic disorders affecting the underprivileged, especially from rural India.
Singh was also the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri award.