Delhi Police gets 10 more mobile forensic vans

The MFV has tools like multi-tunable light sources, eyepiece-less stereo microscopes, mini refrigerators, DSLR cameras, gensets, floodlights, laptops, and CCTV cameras. It will also help carry out biological examinations and proper preservation of exhibits, said an officer

New Delhi: With the addition of 10 more mobile forensic vans (MFV) on Tuesday to the existing fleet of five, the Delhi Police now has a total of 15 MFVs, officials aware of the matter said on Wednesday. With this, all 15 police districts now have their own MFV, which will bring down their response time to around one-third of what they usually take, officials said.

The vans are equipped with tools for on the spot collection of evidence and preliminary testing devices for crimes like rape, murder, dacoity, explosion, narcotics, arson, and accident, the officer added. (Representative Image/ REUTERS)

On February 16, home minister Amit Shah launched the first batch of MFVs in Delhi.

“The five MFVs inducted earlier were allotted to the offices of joint commissioners of police of five ranges (except New Delhi range). The new batch has been allotted to the offices of deputy commissioners of police in all 15 districts. Each MFV will have a dedicated team of forensic experts trained at National Forensic Science University in Gandhinagar,” an officer said, asking not to be named.

The officer added that each van requires an initial one-time set-up cost of approximately ₹50 lakh, which will provide uniformity of investigation across the national capital.

The vans are equipped with tools for on-spot collection of evidence and preliminary testing devices for crimes like rape, murder, dacoity, explosion, narcotics, arson, and accident, the officer added.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said the MFVs will help in scientific investigation of heinous crimes. “The MFV has tools like multi-tunable light sources, eyepiece-less stereo microscopes, mini refrigerators, DSLR cameras, gensets, floodlights, laptops, and CCTV cameras. It will also help carry out biological examinations and proper preservation of exhibits,” he said.

DCP (central) Sanjay Kumar Sain shared similar views. He said, “It will help determine cases of child abuse, defensive wounds on a victim, gunshot wounds, and injury patterns in domestic violence victims. The MFV will also ensure identification of fingerprints from objects. The apparatus in these vans can also help in fire investigations, fraudulent transactions using bank cards, lie detection, footprints, voice analysis, and digital imaging.”