The skeleton was found at a hill on August 24, but the samples are yet to be sent abroad for a DNA test.

Jamal's family have meanwhile expressed concern over the matter and urged for an early DNA test to confirm the identity of the skeleton.

"As a human being everyone would realise that the identity of the skeleton should be known as early as possible," Farman Reza Chowdhury, Jamal's eldest son, told The Daily Star yesterday.

"If the skeleton is really my father's, there would be the religious obligation for us to bury it and perform other rites," he said adding, "We don't know how much progress has been made in sending the samples abroad."

"We might know about the progress if we are allowed to call on State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar when he visits Chittagong tomorrow [Saturday]," he said.

Babar is scheduled to arrive in the port city today to attend a meeting at the Chittagong Circuit House to review law and order in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions.

Meanwhile, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Inspector Anwar Hossain, who is also the investigation officer (IO) of the case, said a lot of formalities are to be gone through before sending the samples abroad. The samples are now preserved at the CID headquarters in the capital.

These included some formalities with the home and foreign ministries at the final stage, the IO told The Daily Star yesterday over phone. Some financial aspects are also involved, he added.

The procedures and formalities were done with topmost priority and all the authorities concerned were sincere to get the DNA test done as early as possible, said the IO.

The sensational case of abduction and killing of Jamal Uddin witnessed some remarkable development after the arrest of one of the prime suspects Shahid Chairman on August 13.

The confessional statements by Shahid Chairman, Kala Mahbub and Shafi revealed some important information about the abduction and ultimately led to the recovery of the skeleton believed to be Jamal Uddin's from the remote hilly area of Kanchan Nagar on August 24.

Since then, however, the case has seen almost no development.

Jamal Uddin, also a leader of Chittagong (South) district unit of ruling BNP, was abducted while returning home from Chandgaon residential area on July 24, 2003.