On 2017 Jun 22, Sunil Verma commented:

Dear Colleagues,

This paper had used our Universal Primers (mcb398/mcb869 - US patent 7141364) along with other primers and cited our paper, Verma and Singh 2003, Mol Ecol Notes 3:28–31; therefore, I became interested in it.

Being the inventor of these primers used in this study, I am aware that our primers CAN NOT establish the identity of the species from "Ash". I was really shocked to read the title, that someone may establish species identity from "Ash" using my primers!

I was eager that all the scientific queries that I had answered so far in last 20 years, and all the arguments that I have done as wildlife forensic expert in the court of law, that species identity can not be established from "Ash" will prove wrong in the light of this paper.

After going through the abstract itself, I understood the matter. I also went through the full paper, and understood that the title of the paper is misleading. The authors indeed did not establish the identity from ash but they did it from some partially burnt biological material that was recovered from the scene of crime. Thus, the title of the paper should have NOT been "Molecular identification from ash"

My scientific view-point is that the title of this paper should be corrected as appropriate and erratum be published in the respective journal.

Dr Sunil Kumar Verma

[Sunil Kumar Verma]

On 2017 Jun 22, Sunil Verma commented:

Dear Colleagues,

This paper had used our Universal Primers (mcb398/mcb869 - US patent 7141364) along with other primers and cited our paper, Verma and Singh 2003, Mol Ecol Notes 3:28–31; therefore, I became interested in it.

Being the inventor of these primers used in this study, I am aware that our primers CAN NOT establish the identity of the species from "Ash". I was really shocked to read the title, that someone may establish species identity from "Ash" using my primers!

I was eager that all the scientific queries that I had answered so far in last 20 years, and all the arguments that I have done as wildlife forensic expert in the court of law, that species identity can not be established from "Ash" will prove wrong in the light of this paper.

After going through the abstract itself, I understood the matter. I also went through the full paper, and understood that the title of the paper is misleading. The authors indeed did not establish the identity from ash but they did it from some partially burnt biological material that was recovered from the scene of crime. Thus, the title of the paper should have NOT been "Molecular identification from ash"

My scientific view-point is that the title of this paper should be corrected as appropriate and erratum be published in the respective journal.

Dr Sunil Kumar Verma

[Sunil Kumar Verma]