5 new mini forensic labs soon in Maharashtra

The five laboratories will be in addition to the eight forensic laboratories that are already present across the state.

Photo taken for representational purpose

In order to further strengthen the apparatus in place for collection and testing of evidence from scenes of crime, the state will soon get five new mini labs. The five laboratories will be in addition to the eight forensic laboratories that are already present across the state. The state has also started providing mobile forensic investigation vans to districts across the state. These measures were taken given the dismal conviction rates that the state witnessed in the past.

A senior official said the eight laboratories were currently handling samples coming from across the state. While Mumbai is the headquarter, other laboratories are located in Kolhapur, Nanded, Aurangabad, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur and Amravati.

The official said, “However, on several occasions, there are place like Thane commissionerate, where there is a huge workload. We realised that waiting for forensic reports in so many cases will hamper investigations and the process of filing chargesheets. Hence, Thane was one of the five places selected to get a mini lab.” Apart from Thane, mini labs will come up in Dhule, Chandrapur, Ratnagiri and Solapur.

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Director General (Legal and Technical) Prabhat Ranjan said, “While they may not have all the facilities like DNA testing initially — for which samples will still be have to sent to the main centres — the mini labs will have a basic set-up, which should take care of most cases.”

According to officials, on several occasions the scene of crime and the forensic laboratory are located at quite a distance, and a mini-lab located nearby will mean samples, especially biological ones, won’t be contaminated. An official said they were hoping the facility would be up in the next few months.

Apart from mini labs, the state has also started providing mobile forensic vans to several districts which will act as first responders and help the police in collection of samples from the scene of crime.

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