Maharashtra: 100 cops with science background to be trained in forensic science

“The aim is to ensure that they get proper knowledge about what samples are to be collected when they reach the crime scene,” the official said.

AS MANY as 100 Maharashtra Police officers with a background in science will be trained in various branches of forensic science by the Maharashtra Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). These officers would then be attached to the 45 forensic van units that have been rolled out across the state to collect evidence from crime scenes. The pilot project is in keeping with the government’s aim to improve conviction rate in police cases.

An FSL official said the Maharashtra Police chief’s office has nominated as many as 100 officers from across the state who had graduated in the science stream. A 20-day training course has been designed for them. The officers, from police-sub inspector to higher ranks, will be given knowledge about all forensic divisions, such as how DNA samples are tested and how ballistics test are conducted on weapons. They will also be given study material.

“The aim is to ensure that they get proper knowledge about what samples are to be collected when they reach the crime scene,” the official said.

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Scientific evidence is crucial in a court. In the past, FSL officials had complained that untrained policemen would send samples from the crime scene that were of little use, leaving out important ones. “Even though the samples were not of any help it would increase our workload. Sometimes, crucial evidence was not sent,” the official said.

One of the reasons behind this, officials said, was that policemen were given only a two-hour lecture as forensic training.

“One lecture was simply not enough. Hence, this 20-day course, during which the officers will be residing at the FSL in Kalina, will be far more important. Also, the fact that they have a background in science will help them relate better to what is being taught,” the official said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to visit the facility to inaugurate the training sessions later this month.

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These 100 policemen after training will be working with the mobile forensic vans. A van — with a forensic expert, videographer, assistant, driver and sophisticated evidence-handling equipment — has been placed in each of the 36 districts of the state and nine were allotted to police commissionerates across the state.

“These trained policemen will be able to point out the crucial evidence that needs to be gathered from the spot and sent to the FSL. It is hoped that this will also reduce the workload of FSL as there will be no irrelevant articles sent. Also, crucial evidence will not be lost from the crime scene,” said a senior FSL official.

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