THE father of missing Blackburn hostage Paul Wells has said he does not understand why the Indian Police have renewed claims that a body found three years ago is that of his son - after forensic tests proved it was not.

Bob Wells, of Feniscowles, Blackburn, said family and friends had been upset by the claims, made on Wednesday.

The body was exhumed in northern Kashmir three years ago.

Forensic tests carried out in 1997 by the Metropolitan Police proved inconclusive while dental checks the following year confirmed the remains were not Paul's.

Paul was one of a group of six tourists kidnapped in July 1995 by Islamic militants involved in the battle over Kashmir.

Mr Wells said as far as he knew, the Indian police had no new evidence to justify Wednesday's claims. He said: "The British authorities are really quite sure that it isn't Paul but the Indian authorities are sure that it is.

"Where that leaves us I don't know. I just don't know what to think."

He said the announcement by the police had caused a great deal of upset for those who knew Paul, a photography student. "It is not just here in the house, it is people around the town and people who knew him in Nottingham at college. I had a call from there this morning, asking what was going on. It is upsetting an awful lot of people.

"If there is no substance to it I think it is very cruel. I don't know how they can justify regurgitating it all."

Mr Wells said he had considered that the Indian authorities were trying to close the case following the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight at Christmas by a group thought to be connected to the group which took Paul and his fellow hostages captive.

The hijackers called for - and secured - the release of Maulana Masood Azhar, the chief of the Harkat-ul-Ansar terrorist group.

Azhar's release had been called for and refused following Paul's kidnapping.

But Mr Wells, of Feniscowles, Blackburn, said the search for the truth about what happened would go on.

He said: "They have to come up with the absolute truth whether this body is Paul's.

"If that means new DNA tests then so be it but it should be done in this country rather than anywhere else so we can finally nail this and decide where we and the authorities should go from here."

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