Two days after Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora made collection of forensic evidence mandatory in crimes punishable by more than six years, senior police officers said while the move will help solve crimes, it will put an additional load on the city’s two forensic labs, which are already burdened with thousands of cases.
Only two FSLs in city
Delhi has two forensic labs — the Forensic Science Laboratory in Rohini and the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Chanakyapuri — run by the Delhi government.
Nearly 20,000 forensic tests are pending with the FSL Rohini alone, where more than 300 posts are lying vacant, according to sources.
Following directions from Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the Commissioner issued a standing order regarding the collection of forensic evidence and allocation of forensic mobile vans, which will be fully equipped with necessary tools and assistants to provide scientific and forensic assistance on the spot to Investigating Officers.
The police currently have around six forensic mobile vans, including two that are deployed at FSL Rohini, to aid investigations in the city’s 15 districts.
Need more labs
In the light of the new order, an ACP-level officer said the government should sanction more labs so that forensic tests can be disposed of quickly.
“Samples take several months to be processed, which also cause delays in filling chargesheets. We have no option but to wait for the final forensic report, as only that is admissible in court,” a source said. As an example of this, the source cited the case of the Mundka fire incident in May, where the forensic team took over a month to match the DNA samples of the 27 persons killed inside the factory with the kin of the deceased.
