When it comes to expert opinion,investigators turn to CFSL Chandigarh

In the latest high-profile case,CFSL Chandigarh examined contents of a questionable tape,which led to former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife being booked by the Himachal Pradesh Vigilance department.

In its report,the laboratory said the voices in the tapes matched the voice-samples of Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha. The tapes are suspected to have voices of Virbhadra and his wife striking a ‘deal’ with a person.

Newsline peeks into the world-class technologies being used at CFSL Chandigarh.

* Speaker Identification and Tape Authentication
CFSL Chandigarh has the technique to match voices irrespective of the language used by the person. “Of course,the slang will be different,but CFSL has the technique of recognising the voices,” a senior official at CFSL said. This technique was used to examine the controversial tape of Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai.

* Morphing and Skull-imagery
Using the morphing technique,CFSL Chandigarh plays a vital role in identifying disfigured bodies of victims. A similar technique — Skull-imagery — was used by experts at CFSL to identify skulls in the sensational Nithari killings case.

* Computer Forensics
CFSL Chandigarh is well-equipped to recover data from a burnt hard-disc or retrieving text hidden in digital images or in MP3 audio files. For tracing emails,usage of satellite phones and tracking mobile phones (both GSM and CDMA),experts at CFSL use techniques under ‘Computer Forensics’.

* Lie-Detection and Brain Electrical Oscillation Signature Profiling
CFSL is a pioneer in the country when it comes to polygraph (lie-detection tests).

* Genetic profiling
Since 2001,the laboratory has been a leader in genetic profiling in northern India,and provides forensic biology/ DNA human identification services.

Famous cases

Nithari killings: CFSL identified the skulls using the video superimposition technique. The laboratory has been providing this facility for over a decade.

Mumbai blasts: After all deceased,except one,remained unidentified—the body’s half face was burnt—CFSL experts took digital images and used grafting technique to ready the face,which was published in newspapers. The deceased,a suspected terrorist,was identified as a resident of Jammu and Kashmir.

Varun Gandhi hate speech: After examining the controversial tapes,CFSL opined that they were edited.

Parliament attack: The CFSL was crucial in providing conclusive evidence against Prof S A R Geelani. In the court,experts proved through computer analysis that the voice recorded by the Delhi Police while intercepting a telephone call matched that of Geelani. CSFL experts in Delhi could not establish any link between the two voices because they lacked technology for the “micro-acoustic analysis” of the speaker. The tape and a sample of Geelani’s voice were then sent to Chandigarh,which analysed them using “forensic speaker identification”.

Handwara rape: Major Rehman Hussain of 30 Rashtriya Rifles was accused of using criminal force and outraging the modesty of a minor girl from Badra Payeen village and raping her mother. After CFSL did a DNA profiling,the Major was absolved of the charges.

Anara Gupta case: CFSL was asked to verify whether the girl in a porn video was Anara. It opined that Anara’s features were “very much similar” to those of the girl.

Murder at Tripura CM’s residence: In this case,a facial reconstruction was done from the skull of the victim,a 16 year-old girl. The skeleton of the victim was found in the sewer of the servants’ quarters at the Tripura Chief Minister’s residence.