2 new DNA testing centres in Maharashtra reduces forensic lab’s backlog

Setting up two new DNA testing centres in Nagpur and Pune has reduced the overall pendency of forensic cases in the state from around 75,000 in 2013 to 37,000 in 2014 to 19,774 till February 2015.

Setting up two new DNA testing centres in Nagpur and Pune has reduced the overall pendency of forensic cases in the state from around 75,000 in 2013 to 37,000 in 2014 to 19,774 till February 2015.

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Officials at Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) at Kalina said even if 164 of the 211 vacant posts for technical staff is filled within the next six months, they would be able to complete the analysis of 19,199 pending cases only by this year end.

“We have analysed 10,534 of the 11,765 cases we received in January this year,” said MK Malve, director, FSL, Kalina.

“Owing to the staff crunch, thousands of cases have been pending in the past few years. But after recruiting 190 technical staff members in 2013, we have reduced the pending cases across Maharashtra,” said Malve.

According to statistics, 5,536 – the highest number of pending cases in the state till February 2015 – are yet to be forensically analysed in the prohibition and excise division.

Cases of voice identification (tape authentication and speaker identification) follow suit with 2,009 cases across the state still awaiting forensic analysis.

The number of pending cybercrime cases stands at 1,480.

FSL officials said the state’s voice identification and cybercrime cases are sent to the FSL at Kalina as the other forensic labs in the state do not have the equipment or experts to analyse them.

“In 2014, the six forensic labs in the state received 1,46,194 cases, which included all kinds of tests. We analysed 1,64,046 cases that we received over 2013-14” said an FSL official.