Delhi LG directs Rohini forensic lab to procure 4 more vans

LG Vinai Kumar Saxena visited the state government-run FSL in Rohini and asked officials to procure four more FSL vans in addition to the existing two. Officials of FSL accompany police officers to crime scenes in these vans and collect evidence, which is analysed on the spot.

Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena on Thursday ordered the forensic science laboratory (FSL) to work with Delhi Police and clear pending cases, officials said.

New Delhi L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena (File Photo)

Saxena visited the state government-run FSL in Rohini and asked officials to procure four more FSL vans in addition to the existing two. Officials of FSL accompany police officers to crime scenes in these vans and collect evidence, which is analysed on the spot.

The LG’s visit comes in the backdrop of a review meeting of the FSL’s works on June 22 during which he noted that there were 20,000 cases pending at the laboratory.

A spokesperson from the LG office said, “The plan is to have mobile forensic vans in all 16 police districts. The four new vans will be attached to the police districts within the next three months. This is part of the lieutenant governor’s project to clear around 20,000 pending cases.”

On June 22, the LG had told officials at the FSL that he would monitor the progress of the pending cases. “During Thursday’s inspection, the LG ordered FSL officials to submit a report every fortnight with details of how many cases have been analysed and the latest data of pending cases. Besides this, the LG also ordered the Public Works Department (PWD) to complete the construction of the new FSL building by March 2023,” the spokesperson added.

The LG’s office also said that any pending proposal related to upgrading the technology at the laboratory would be instantly cleared.

During his visit on June 22, LG Saxena had termed the number of pending cases “unacceptable” and said he would personally monitor the update on pending cases.

Evidence analysed by the FSL and certified by its scientific officers is crucial for the police to secure conviction in a criminal case. Most of the times, cases in court drag on for several years owing to the pending reports of the evidence by the forensic laboratory. In the last several years, the burden of cases has only gone up with the addition of digital evidence such as cellphone calls, videos and CCTV footage, experts said.

Besides this, FSL analyses physical evidence gathered from the spot in cases of murder, robbery and fraud.

The evidence gathered by police, for instance a voice recording of threat by a gangster, is accepted in the court only if the FSL certifies it.

Delhi has just one forensic lab that caters to 190 police stations in the city and receives about 15,000 cases a year.