Nod for two more facilities: Maha to be first state in country to have eight DNA testing centres

The state government has given nod for two more DNA testing facilities in Nanded and Kolhapur, in a bid to ensure faster investigation in crime cases. The state

The state government has given nod for two more DNA testing facilities in Nanded and Kolhapur, in a bid to ensure faster investigation in crime cases. The state currently has six such centres.

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With the inclusion of the two new facilities, Maharashtra will be the first state in India to have eight DNA testing facilities. Currently, under the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratories (DFSL), DNA profiling is done at Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad and Amravati centres.

DNA profiling is a forensic technique used to identify individuals by characteristics of their DNA. It plays the most important role in analysing evidence in cases of sexual assault. But apart from that, it also helps in identifying unknown bodies, solving paternity disputes and along with cases like murder or attempt to murder.

“Often, police have to travel 200 to 400 km with forensic samples to Kalina for DNA analysis, which is time consuming and often affect the samples, if not carried at a certain temperature. So, these region-based DNA profiling centres will help fast-track investigations,” said a senior official from Mantralaya.

With growing awareness about the role of DNA profiling in investigation, the number of DNA samples sent for analysis at DFSL is growing by almost 15% annually. The forensic science lab (FSL) at Kalina receives around 30 samples daily, and most of them are related to sexual abuse.

State forensic laboratories record the highest number of samples in the division of biology (blood and semen), toxicology, DNA, excise (alcohol-related issues) and cyber forensics. But due to lack of manpower and infrastructure, there is backlog which affects the investigation of crime cases.

In high-profile cases, the reports are generally submitted within a week. But in other cases, it takes over a month. Currently, the six forensic laboratories have more than 3,000 pending DNA samples for analysis.

“So far, cases from Nanded are generally referred to Aurangabad FSL. And, if forensic experts are called for examination of crime scene, it takes around 10 hours; during this time the police have to ensure that the crime scene is not contaminated. Now, with these new centres, we will be able to examine the samples faster, thus clearing the backlog,” the official said.

The two new units will each get around ₹5 crore for establishment expenses in addition to 12 experts to run it.

Currently, there are almost 43% vacancies in the top three tiers of officials. Out of the total 1,500 sanctioned posts, around 650 are lying vacant, with 347 vacancies only in third class division (technicians).

“We will provide training to all new employees at our centre in Mumbai before posting them. Once the recruitment process is over, almost 90% vacant seats would be filled,” said the official.