A new mini forensic laboratory was inaugurated in Thane on Monday as part of the State government’s initiative to increase the number of Forensic Sciences Laboratories (FSLs) in the State. Speaking on the occasion, Director General of Police (Legal and Technical) Hemant Nagrale said thought the FSL was blamed for delays in investigation, it was many a times the investigating agency’s fault.
The new laboratory has been set up on the sixth floor of the MTNL Building in Charai, Thane and was made operational at 11 a.m. on Monday. Apart from Mr. Nagrale, who heads all the FSLs in the State, Inspector General of Police (Konkan Range) Niket Kaushik and Thane Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar were also present at the event.
“It is the police’s claim that cases get delayed due to pendency of reports from the FSL. However, reports are sent to the police on time in 70% of cases and there are delays only in 30% cases. The major pendency is on the report that we have already sent, whether knowingly or unknowingly,” Mr. Nagrale said.
He said there have also been cases where FSL reports are found to have been misplaced. “I have a feeling that this happens due to some connivance,” he said.
The mini laboratory was one of the recommendations by a committee set up in 2015 to try and come up with measures to boost the Maharashtra Police’s conviction rate. The committee had recommended that as the eight FSLs have to deal with cases from across the State, five additional FSLs would help decrease their load and also help speedy resolution of cases, which would in turn boost the annual conviction rate.
Mini laboratories are already operational in Dhule, Chandrapur and Ratnagiri, while one more is expected to be operation in Solapur by January next year.
